Fo Guang Shan: A Guide to Taiwan's Largest Buddhist Monastery

Fo Guang Shan (佛光山) is one of the most influential Chinese Buddhist movements in the world, and its headquarters, which I visited, is the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. It is also home to the world’s tallest seated bronze Buddha.

I took a day trip from Kaohsiung to see it for myself, and if you are visiting Taiwan, it is well worth doing the same.

While you are in the city, pair it with a morning at the temple-ringed Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung, work through my guide to the best things to do in Kaohsiung, and see our other Taiwan travel guides for trips further afield.

Watch the Fo Guang Shan video on YouTube

Monastery and museum: what you are actually visiting

It helps to know that Fo Guang Shan is really two places side by side. The original monastery, founded in the 1960s, is a working religious community and the headquarters of a Buddhist order with temples all over the world. Next to it, the Buddha Museum opened in 2011 as the public showpiece: a vast ceremonial avenue lined with eight pagodas, leading up to the Big Buddha seated above the Main Hall.

Most visitors only ever see the museum side, which is a shame. Wander over to the older monastery grounds next door and you get golden Buddha statues by the hundred and the daily rhythms of a living community, rather than a visitor attraction. The two together are what make a day here land the way it does.

Getting to Fo Guang Shan from Kaohsiung

The journey to Fo Guang Shan is much easier from Kaohsiung than Google Maps might suggest. You can jump on a public bus from Taiwan High Speed Rail Zuoying Station which leaves every 35 mins. It takes just 30-45 minutes and cost NT$140 (~£3.50) for two people.

You can get a taxi or Uber for NT$800 (~£20) but I found the bus to be cheaper and more fun.

If you would rather not work the buses out at all, there are day trips that fold Fo Guang Shan in with a few other stops. Kaohsiung day tours on GetYourGuide are the easiest place to compare them. Doing it independently is cheap and straightforward, so I would only bother if you are short on time.

Get yourself on an MRT to Zouying Station. You can catch a direct E02 bus. There are also a slower 8501 bus from there and back via E-DA World. You can also take the 8010/11 bus from Kaohsiung Main station but it stops in many places.

What to bring with you

Entry to Fo Guang Shan and its Buddha Museum is free, with a small voluntary donation welcomed, and it opens daily except Tuesdays (roughly 9am to 6pm on weekdays and until 7pm at weekends). Once you are in, Fo Guang Shan, a Buddhist complex in the Dashu district of Kaohsiung, is well equipped. You will find plenty of vending machines for drinks. There’s also restaurants, cafes, and gift shops. There’s even a Starbucks in the main building. You really can’t escape globalisation, even from within the most impressive Buddhist monastery in Taiwan.

Do skip the Starbucks for at least one meal, though. The monastery runs its own vegetarian canteen, and it is inexpensive, generous and quietly some of the best vegetarian food you will eat in Taiwan. Monastery kitchens here take it seriously, and even committed carnivores tend to leave impressed.

So, there’s no need to bring anything. Just remember your camera!

What to expect

If you go during summer, it will be hot! Don’t forget you will be walking around outside for most of the day. Seriously, we had to buy an umbrella to protect us from the heat. Summer is also typhoon season in Kaohsiung, so it is worth knowing how to prepare for a super typhoon before you travel.

If you do, consider arriving at around 3pm to avoid the hottest part of the day when the sun is directly above you. If you stay for a few hours, you will also get to see the sunset behind the Big Buddha statue!

I have read other blog posts about Fo Guang Shan of which say it is more catered to the elderly. Some can argue, it isn’t the most exciting place in the world and it is frequented by older generations. However, I really enjoyed myself! It is a fantastic destination to test your photography skills with friendly guides eager to teach you about their religion.

The Big Buddha statue measuring 40 metres tall and sitting 108 metres high from ground level! Comprising of steel and bronze, it is the highest seated bronze Buddha in the world. For me, this was a big enough reason to visit Fo Guang Shan.

The Fo Guang Shan Museum also houses 48 underground palaces closed to the public to preserve human civilisation and record human history.

A final reminder to enjoy yourself! The whole area is an incredible and humbling experience. The staff are all extremely friendly and if you don’t understand what you are doing inside one of the worship rooms, like I did, there’s always someone to guide you.

One thing to keep in mind as you wander: this is an active place of worship, not a theme park. Follow the signs inside the shrine halls, ask before photographing the monastics, and leave the drone at home. Nobody will mind a respectful visitor taking photos, but it is their spiritual home first and your backdrop second.

Soak it all up, take as much photography as your memory card can handle, then share your photos on Instagram using #thattravelblog so I can remember how much fun it was.

When the Buddha reached the age of 80, it is said he announced the day he will enter parinirvana. Fearing that the disciples will lose guidance, they asked the Buddha what they should do. He told them, “After I enter parinirvana, and have been cremated, gather up my relic and build a stupa at the crossroads, so that those who see it develop faith.”​

Fo Guang Shan FAQ

Is Fo Guang Shan free to visit?

Yes. Entry to the Buddha Museum and the monastery grounds is free, though a small donation is welcomed and the odd special exhibition or activity may charge.

How do you get to Fo Guang Shan from Kaohsiung?

Take the MRT or high speed rail to Zuoying Station, then the direct E02 bus to the Buddha Museum, roughly 30 to 45 minutes. A taxi or Uber runs about NT$800, but the bus is cheaper and more fun.

How long do you need at Fo Guang Shan?

At least half a day for the Buddha Museum and the main walkway. Add the original monastery grounds and a vegetarian lunch and it comfortably fills a full day.

When is Fo Guang Shan open?

The complex opens daily except Tuesdays, roughly 9am to 6pm on weekdays and until 7pm at weekends. Hours can shift around religious festivals and lantern events, so check the official site before a special trip.

What is the big Buddha at Fo Guang Shan?

It is the world’s tallest seated bronze Buddha, 40 metres tall and 108 metres above the ground, enthroned above the museum’s Main Hall at the end of the avenue of eight pagodas.

Address: Fo Guang Shan (佛光山)

No. 1, Tongling Rd, Dashu District, Kaohsiung City, 840