Fo Guang Shan (Buddha's Light Mountain)
Main Deities
About
From a barren hillside to more than three hundred monasteries and centers around the world — Fo Guang Shan, in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, is one of Taiwan's four great Buddhist mountains and one of its four major Buddhist organizations, founded single-handedly by Master Hsing Yun in 1967. Its best-known landmark is the Buddha Museum: along the Great Path to Buddhahood in front of it, eight pagodas stand in two rows, leading the eye to the great Buddha at the far end — a breathtaking sight. Fo Guang Shan is known for promoting 'Humanistic Buddhism,' the idea that the Dharma does not belong in remote mountains but should be woven into everyone's daily life.
History
In 1949, Master Hsing Yun came to Taiwan with the Nationalist government. In 1967 he bought a stretch of barren hills in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, and began building a monastery — and Fo Guang Shan was born. No one could have imagined that this wild hillside would, over the next fifty-some years, grow into an internationally renowned center of Buddhism. In 2011, the Buddha Museum on the grounds was completed, and it soon became one of southern Taiwan's major religious and tourist destinations.
Fo Guang Shan (Buddha's Light Mountain)
Dashu District, Kaohsiung City
Visitor Info
Address
No. 153, Xingtian Rd., Dashu Dist., Kaohsiung City
Region
Dashu District, Kaohsiung City
Plan Your Visit
- Hours
- Daily 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- When to Go
- On Buddha's Birthday (the Bathing the Buddha Festival), lunar 4/8, monasteries hold Bathing the Buddha ceremonies; around Amitabha Buddha's birthday on lunar 11/17, Buddhist temples often hold seven-day Buddha-name recitation retreats.
Checked on 2026-10-13 · Sources: Google Maps