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Since 1974, the original Kaohsiung City Seal has been a golden “Kao,” the first Chinese character of the city, engraved in a blue gearwheel on a white background. The gearwheel signifies Kaohsiung as a modern port city and industrial center, while the golden character represents the continuous development toward a splendid future.
The World Games, the largest international sports event held in Taiwan, was hosted by Kaohsiung City in 2009. The World Games has not only won positive review around the world, but also successfully proven the capability of the city to shoulder international events. During the World Games, the logo of “Kao” written with colourful ribbon has become the representation of Kaohsiung City. Its meaning—city of sunshine and dynamics—perfectly describes the characteristics of Kaohsiung.
The logo is the winning piece from over 1,691 designs, acclaimed by international and domestic design figures. It incorporates the festive feeling of dancing ribbons, expressing concord, friendship, dynamics, and progress. The first stroke symbolizes the glory of rising sun, while the finishing stroke flows in the shape of waves, illustrating Kaohsiung as the city of water, green, and happiness.
Since the World Games, the citizens have closely identified themselves with the “Kao” logo written in ribbon, as it is recognized throughout the world. To meet the expectation of the citizens, through legal process it is adopted as the new official City Seal of Kaohsiung and took effect on January 1st, 2010, in a hope to sustain the passion, enthusiasm, and spirit it signifies.
The change of city seal illustrates the transformation of Kaohsiung City from an industrial hub to an international metropolis of ecology, tourism, and technology. Representing Kaohsiung as the maritime capital and the city of sunshine and happiness, the new City Seal will accompany and witness Kaohsiung through every historical moment in the years to come.
The new City Seal is open for non-profit use; otherwise should be authorized by the Information Office of Kaohsiung City Government. For enquiries please contact j81070@kcg.gov.tw.
The Kaohsiung City logo was designed by making the Chinese character "kao" the subject, the shape featuring a blue gear that symbolizes the brightness and brilliance of Kaohsiung city's construction prospects, like a giant wheel of the times evolving and moving irresistibly forward.
The golden pattern of "kao" stands for the solidarity, rapid development and bright prospects of Kaohsiung city, an industrial and commercial harbor metropolitan city renowned around the globe.
To welcome the approach of the Y2K, the Kaohsiung city government desired in 1999 to select a new icon to represent the ocean side of Kaohsiung through the common participation and creativity of its citizens to serve as a hallmark for constructing a new style for the city. As a result, the "Kaohsiung 2000" logo selection activity was held, calling for artisitc designs across the country. From May 15 to June 5, a total of 732 individual designs were received. In the first phase, an evaluation meeting was held on June 11, in which six designs were selected. In the second phase, a vote was taken by the public on these designs from June 26 to July 18, and the design submitted by Mr. He Chun-yen won the most votes. This Kaohsiung logo was again designed based on the Chinese character "kao", with its shape featuring a sailing ship plowing the waves. The orange color stands for the passion of Kaohsiung city, the city of first importance in southern Taiwan; the golden yellow color represents the city's ceaselessly pulsating vitality; the green color stands for the growth and thriving nature of the expansive side of Kaohsiung, and finally, the blue ocean represents Kaohsiung city's unique "Taiwan’s Maritime Capital" character.
