Who put the "love in" the Love River

This evening a few friends and I pondered this question as we strolled along Kaohsiung's Love River. The conventional explanation seems to be that the Love River was so named because it lured lovers- enamored and scorned alike. Here began many a courtship or ended tragic stories of unrequited love.


Today, love by the Love River endures with lovers under the moonlight, in the secrecy of shadows and obscurity of night.


Love River at night

My friend J offered a more scandalous explanation: That the "lovin" the Love River might have been a racy reference to "ladies of the night" who frequented the riverbanks. A few years ago, such a sorted explanation wouldn't have seemed so far fetched. In those days, the Love River was a deserted place left in neglect, infamously foul smelling and sewage infested.

Whether or not J's theory holds any truth, the Love River has certainly come a long way from the infamy and neglect of its unsavory, filthy days... it is now of the most vibrant districts in Kaohsiung having received a facelift with brightly lit bridges and riverside cafes- some of which offer live entertainment nightly; it is also now one of the busiest tourist sites in Kaohsiung with steady bus loads of visitors arriving daily.


One of many riverside cafes

Photos in this post courtesy of this website.