Take a quiet walk in Xiaoyao Garden and hear the wind in the old house

In the bustling pace of the city, sometimes you want to find a place where you can do nothing, just walk quietly and listen to the wind.
Xiaoyao Garden is such a place, a historical building complex quietly located in Gushan. It is neither exaggerated nor commercialized, but you will find that the simpler the place, the more stories it can hide.

🕰️ The former villa of the rich and powerful, the cultural space today
Xiaoyao Garden was built in the 1930s and was a private villa in the Showa period. It was used by high-ranking military officers or officials in Taiwan during the Japanese occupation period. It was briefly used as a diplomatic guest house after the war. Later, it was quiet and deserted for a while until it was restored by the Kaohsiung City Government in recent years and reopened to the public.

As soon as you enter the park, the first thing that catches your eye is the elegant Japanese wooden mansion. The layout is a typical "Japanese-Western eclectic" building, which combines Japanese eaves, Western arches and local Taiwanese red bricks, showing the unique architectural hybrid aesthetics of that era.
From the courtyard, tatami to sliding doors, every detail has been exquisitely restored, as if walking into a quiet time capsule.

🍂 The shadows of trees are dancing, the sound of wind is blowing through the windows, and every step brings a different view
The park retains a large number of native old trees and plants, and different scenery in different seasons. The treetops are green in late spring, the cicadas are noisy in summer, and the sun shines obliquely through the wooden windows in autumn and winter. Every time you come, it feels like you have come to a different world.

Some exhibition areas are open inside the building, displaying living relics, letters, and utensils from the Japanese colonial period, with light and shadow and old photos, which is very suitable for looking at and recalling the appearance of Kaohsiung a hundred years ago.

People who like taking pictures will definitely fall in love with this place: mottled wooden walls, light and shadow of wooden lattice windows, stone lanterns and dry landscapes, no matter how you take pictures, they are tasteful. But the best thing is the tranquility. You don’t need to do anything special to feel that your heart is slowly being settled.

📍【Travel Helper】
Address: No. 20, Lane 5, Hechuan Street, Gushan District, Kaohsiung City
Opening hours: 09:00–17:00 (closed on Mondays)
Tickets: Free admission (some exhibitions may require reservations)
Recommended stay time: 30-60 minutes
Matching attractions: Gushan Elementary School, Old Sanhe Bank, Hamasing Railway Cultural Park, Pier-2 Art District

🚶♀️ Tips: Xiaoyao Garden is located in a residential area, and the entrance alley is relatively hidden. Please slow down and whisper as you walk into this ancient courtyard, and respect the lives of the surrounding residents.

Finding a place to be in a daze in the city is the best travel
Xiaoyao Garden has no bustling crowds, nor gorgeous check-in spots, but it has a kind of power to tell stories quietly. If you also want to find a space to slow down in Kaohsiung, you might as well come here to take a look and listen to how the wind of the old times blows through the wooden windows and time.

#5月好去处2025