Cafeography
Kaohsiung · Yancheng & Pier-2

Cafés in Yancheng & Pier-2

Pier-2's harbor warehouses, milk tea on Sinle Street and cafés in one of Kaohsiung's oldest districts.

Photo: Sunny Li, Pexels License

Yancheng (鹽埕區) is Kaohsiung's smallest district, 1.42 km² with 22,524 people in October 2023, and has been its least populous since 2004.1 It is also one of the oldest: in 1701 the Fengshan County government recruited some 20 people to open salt pans on the Dagou coast here, and 鹽埕 means salt yard.2

On the harbor side, the Pier-2 Art Center fills former port warehouses.3 The Kaohsiung Music Center, the Film Archive and the Museum of History are in the district too.1 Inland, cafés line Sinle Street (新樂街), Wufu 4th Road (五福四路) and Dayong Road (大勇路), the three streets with the most of them, and Yanchengpu station on the Orange Line serves the district.1

Local tip: For Dayong Road, leave Yanchengpu station by Exit 2: the first shop you see is Ou-jia Yin-pin at No. 87, which makes lotus milk tea with lotus boba.5

At a glance

54Cafés listed
3With opening hours
10:00Earliest opening
02:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Do good coffee & dessert, from 10:00 (Mon 10:00–18:00 · Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: 春福, until 02:00 (Thu 18:00–01:00 · Fri–Sun 18:00–02:00).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (4%), open late (2%), takeaway (2%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Kaohsiung.

Coffee chains in Yancheng & Pier-2

From salt pans to the busiest district in town

Harbor works completed in 1908 buried the salt pans under dredged mud, and the reclaimed land filled up after the Kaohsiung city office moved here in 1928.2 The population climbed from 27,736 in 1947 to a peak of 66,703 in 1967, more than 45,000 people per km², before business moved east; by 2022 it was down to 22,481.2

After the Second World War the district was known for black-market goods and cheap eateries.4 Dagou Ding Old Street (大溝頂), one of its covered alleys, opened in the 1950s, and the Ginza Shopping Arcade, Yancheng's oldest covered shopping street, now faces redevelopment plans.4 Yancheng 1st Public Market, also from the 1950s, was revamped in the early 2020s with lower rents for new businesses.4

Pier-2's warehouses and the light rail

The Pier-2 warehouses were built in 1973 and fell empty as Kaohsiung turned from industry to services. After local artists pressed for the site, the city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs, an arts association and Shu-Te University took it over in 2006 and began exhibitions.3 A fire on 9 March 2021 left one warehouse with only its concrete walls and metal frames.3

Dayi Pier-2 and Penglai Pier-2 light rail stations have served the warehouses since 2017, and Yanchengpu MRT station is within walking distance.3 Love Pier, Shoushan Park and Wenwu Temple stops complete the district's five.1 In the Dayi warehouses, NOW & THEN by nybc serves coffee in unit C9; at the Music Center, 百瓦哥咖啡 is on the ground floor of Zhen'ai Road 1, below WiJazz Records (爵式).

Sinle Street, Dayong Road and milk tea

Sinle Street was once lined with jewelry shops and is now best known for milk tea, with most tea shops at its eastern end.5 Hua-da Milk Tea (樺達奶茶) at No. 101 has been open for more than 40 years, and Tianchi (天池) at No. 113 makes 冬瓜茶 (dōngguā chá, winter-melon tea).5

Coffee shares the street. koou coffee is upstairs at No. 117, BeO2 Cafe at No. 144, and 阿貴私塾 at No. 39 has Wi-Fi. On Dayong Road, 布蘭奇研磨咖啡 is at No. 157, 鹽埕學堂 at No. 62 and 維肯茶藝, a tea house with cold-brew tea (冷泡茶), at No. 117-1.

Wufu 4th Road and late hours

Part of Wufu 4th Road is known as 竹器街 (bamboo-ware street).2 Along it, 珈琲舍道 is at No. 201, Tiny Cafe (滴所在咖啡) at No. 241, Ryan Cafe and Milk Tea at No. 218, and Recraft Drip Coffee & Tea in Lane 239; 厚里 Horli Baking sells pull-apart bread from a train-carriage shop at No. 347.

On Dagong Road, 36味 runs a cold-drip workshop, 鹽埕冰滴製造所, at No. 62. Do good coffee & dessert on Bixin Street 116 opens 10:00–18:00 and closes on Tuesdays. 春福 (Chhun Hok Café), in Lane 36 of Yancheng Street, works the night shift: from 18:00 Thursday to Sunday, until 01:00 on Thursdays and 02:00 from Friday to Sunday.

Sources

  1. Yancheng District, Kaohsiung, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. 鹽埕區, Wikipedia (Chinese), accessed October 2026
  3. Pier-2 Art Center, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Yancheng in Kaohsiung 鹽埕區: Guide + Photos, Taiwanderers (updated August 6, 2025), accessed October 2026
  5. Kaohsiung, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Kaohsiung

Hamasen & Sizihwan

13 cafés

Cianjin & Sinsing

122 cafés

Lingya

119 cafés

Sanmin & Main Station

122 cafés

Museum of Fine Arts & Neiwei

38 cafés

Zuoying & Mingcheng Road

108 cafés

In Yancheng & Pier-2, also browse: Wi-Fi Open late Bakery cafés

FAQ

Yancheng & Pier-2 cafés: questions

When were the Pier-2 warehouses in Kaohsiung built?

The Pier-2 warehouses in Yancheng were built in 1973 and fell empty as Kaohsiung moved from industry to services. The city's Bureau of Cultural Affairs, an arts association and Shu-Te University took them over in 2006 and began exhibitions. A fire on 9 March 2021 gutted one warehouse.

What is Sinle Street in Kaohsiung's Yancheng District known for?

Sinle Street was once lined with jewelry shops and is now known for milk tea, mostly at its eastern end. Hua-da Milk Tea at No. 101 has been open for more than 40 years and Tianchi at No. 113 makes winter-melon tea. Cafés include koou coffee, upstairs at No. 117, and BeO2 Cafe at No. 144.

How do you get to Pier-2 Art Center in Kaohsiung by public transport?

Take the Circular Light Rail to Dayi Pier-2 or Penglai Pier-2 station, both open since 2017, or the Orange Line to Yanchengpu MRT station, which is within walking distance. Love Pier, Shoushan Park and Wenwu Temple light rail stops also serve Yancheng District.

For café owners

Own a café in Yancheng & Pier-2?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design