Asia Artist Awards (AAA 2026): Dates, Tickets & Venue (Kaohsiung)

Two nights under a dragon’s back

The 11th Asia Artist Awards returns to southern Taiwan. AAA 2026 runs on December 5–6, 2026, a Saturday and Sunday, at Kaohsiung National Stadium. It is a two-day show built around top Korean stars, and it is staged in one of the most distinctive stadiums in Asia.

The stadium curves around its field in a long spiral, and its roof is a skin of solar panels. Seen from the stands, the canopy reads like overlapping scales. Beneath it, a stage sits on a field built for athletics, and tens of thousands of lightsticks fill the seating bowl that wraps around it.

A dragon with solar scales

Kaohsiung National Stadium was built for the 2009 World Games. Locals still often call it the World Games Main Stadium (世運主場館). Japanese architect Toyo Ito designed it as an open, spiralling form that tapers into a tail at one end, and the dragon comparison stuck from day one.

The roof carries thousands of photovoltaic panels and was one of the first large solar-powered stadiums in the world. One practical point matters for fans: the canopy shelters the seating, but the field itself is open to the sky. If you hold floor seats, you are effectively outdoors.

• Floor seats: open air, closest to the stage, no roof overhead.
• Stand seats: under the solar canopy, with a wider view of the staging and the crowd.
• Tail end of the spiral: the stadium’s open side, where the structure drops low.

The Zuoying District setting

The stadium sits in Zuoying, in northern Kaohsiung, far from the harbour-front centre. The streets around it are mostly residential, with wide roads and park space rather than a dense entertainment strip. On show days, convenience stores near the MRT exits are where most fans pick up water and snacks.

Zuoying is also Kaohsiung’s main rail gateway. Zuoying Station combines the Taiwan High Speed Rail terminus, the conventional TRA line and Zuoying MRT Station (R16). From there it is one stop on the Red Line to World Games Station (R17), the stadium’s own MRT station.

That geography shapes where visitors usually stay. Many pick hotels near Zuoying for the short ride. Others stay in central areas such as Sanmin, Xinxing or around Formosa Boulevard Station and ride the Red Line north.

Getting there by MRT and high-speed rail

The Red Line is the backbone of the trip. It links Kaohsiung International Airport (R4) in the south with Zuoying and World Games Station in the north, so you can reach the stadium from the airport with no change of train.

• From the airport: Red Line north from Kaohsiung International Airport (R4) to World Games (R17).
• From Taipei: Taiwan High Speed Rail to Zuoying, then one MRT stop north on the Red Line.
• From central Kaohsiung: Red Line from Formosa Boulevard (R10), where it crosses the Orange Line.

World Games Station sits close enough to the stadium that the last stretch is on foot. On big event nights, the platforms and exits carry far more people than on an ordinary evening. After the show ends, the queue for the station is usually the slowest part of the night.

Getting in and out of World Games Station

Most of the friction at a stadium show happens at the gates and the turnstiles. Here is how attendees usually handle it.

• Pay with a card, not coins. EasyCard (悠遊卡) and iPASS stored-value cards work on the Kaohsiung MRT and in convenience stores. Most fans top one up before show day, so they skip the ticket machine queue after the finale.
• Expect a security line. Bags are typically checked at stadium entry. The organiser sets the rules on what you can bring in, including cameras and banners.
• Bring lightsticks, not lenses. Official lightsticks are central to K-pop crowd culture, and professional camera gear is commonly restricted at these shows.
• Walk, then ride. After the show, some fans walk south toward Zuoying Station rather than squeezing onto the World Games platform.
• Swap, don’t litter. At K-pop events in Taiwan, fans commonly hand out free fan-made goods outside the venue. Accept politely and carry your rubbish out, because public bins are scarce in Taiwanese cities.

Taiwan does not have a tipping culture for taxis or casual food. Mobile ride-hailing works in Kaohsiung, though pickup points near the stadium jam quickly when tens of thousands of people leave at once.

December in Kaohsiung

December falls in Kaohsiung’s dry season, and the city is among Taiwan’s warmest in winter. Days are usually mild and sunny. Evenings cool down noticeably, and an outdoor stadium loses its daytime warmth once the sun drops.

A light jacket usually covers it, especially if you are on the open field. Rain is far less common than in the summer months. Still, a compact poncho is easy to carry and is generally more welcome in a crowd than an umbrella.

Around the show: Lotus Pond and night markets

A two-day event leaves daytime free, and Zuoying has one of Kaohsiung’s best-known sights close by. Lotus Pond (蓮池潭) is a lake lined with temples. Its Dragon and Tiger Pagodas are entered through the dragon’s mouth and exited through the tiger’s, which is said to turn bad luck into good.

Further afield, these are the usual off-stage stops:

• Ruifeng Night Market: near Kaohsiung Arena Station (R14) on the Red Line, a short ride south of the stadium.
• Liuhe Night Market: by Formosa Boulevard Station, one of the city’s longest-running night markets.
• Pier-2 Art Center: converted harbour warehouses in Yancheng, reached by the Circular Light Rail.
• Formosa Boulevard Station: its Dome of Light stained-glass ceiling is worth a look while you change trains.

The organiser publishes the dates, venue details and ticket information for AAA 2026 on its official channels. Everything else on this page, from trains to temples, stays the same before and after the show.