The story
Kaohsiung Love River Dragon Boat Carnival in Love River
Held on the Love River running through central Kaohsiung during the Dragon Boat Festival period in late spring or early summer, this carnival brings dragon boat racing teams to the river's urban waterfront, paired with riverside food stalls and evening activities along Kaohsiung's redeveloped downtown river walk.
The Love River was, for much of the twentieth century, one of Kaohsiung's most visible environmental liabilities rather than an asset: as the city industrialized around shipping, steel, and petrochemicals, factory discharge and untreated sewage turned the river black and foul-smelling, a condition that persisted for decades even as the waterway ran directly through the city's downtown core.