Qualla: Formosa Boulevard Metro Station

Formosa Boulevard Metro Station: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rico Shen, CC BY-SA 4.0. On December 10, 1979, International Human Rights Day, police and soldiers attacked a pro-democracy rally in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The Formosa Incident, as it came to be known, resulted in the arrest, trial, and imprisonment of virtually the entire leadership of Taiwan's democratic opposition. Three decades later, the intersection where protestors once faced truncheons and tear gas became the site of the most extravagant metro station in Asia: Formosa Boulevard, named not for the old Portuguese word for Taiwan but for the magazine that organized the rally and the movement that changed the country.

Image: Rico Shen | CC BY-SA 4.0

Formosa Boulevard Metro Station: The Dome of Light

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rybloo, CC BY-SA 3.0. The station's centerpiece is impossible to miss. The Dome of Light spans thirty meters in diameter and covers 2,180 square meters, making it the largest single work of glass art in the world. Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata designed it as a narrative cycle depicting water, ear...

Image: Rybloo | CC BY-SA 3.0

Formosa Boulevard Metro Station: Where Two Lines Cross

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Henry M. Trotter, Public domain. Formosa Boulevard sits at the junction of Kaohsiung Metro's Red and Orange lines, making it the system's only interchange station. The three-level underground structure combines an island platform with two side platforms. Eleven exits connect to the streets above, where the Liouh...

Image: Henry M. Trotter | Public domain

Formosa Boulevard Metro Station: From Protest Ground to Public Art

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rybloo, CC BY-SA 3.0. The station was named after the Formosa Boulevard project, itself a remodeling of Kaohsiung's Jhongshan Road undertaken in preparation for the 2009 World Games. The boulevard takes its name from the Formosa Incident of 1979, which catalyzed Taiwan's transition from authoritarian ...

Image: Rybloo | CC BY-SA 3.0

Formosa Boulevard Metro Station: Underground Cathedral

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MiNe from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY 2.0. Kaohsiung Metro opened its Red Line in March 2008, with the Orange Line following in September. Formosa Boulevard, at the crossing point, was designed to be the system's showpiece from the beginning. It is one of three Kaohsiung Metro stations that feature commissioned artworks b...

Image: MiNe from Taipei, Taiwan | CC BY 2.0