Export processing zones established in the 1960s in Nantzu and Chienchen attracted people from all over southern Taiwan. In the 1970s, during the era of the Ten Construction Projects, both China Shipbuilding and China Steel chose to locate in Kaohsiung.
設立於民國五十年代中期的高雄及楠梓等加工出口區，吸引了南部各縣市農村青年蜂擁而至；六十年代啟動的十大建設中，中船、中鋼也選在高雄落腳。