Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum

Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum

Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum
4.5
Speciality MuseumsReligious SitesHistory Museums
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
The Buddha Museum (formerly Buddha Memorial Center) was constructed with the intention of the construction commenced in 2001 enshrining the Buddha's relic and lasted for ten years. It was officially opened on the 25th December 2011.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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  • Ineika
    Frankfurt, Germany286 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Go there, it‘s a must see
    The museum is extremely impressive and really worth a visit. The area with different buildings is huge and there is something to discover everywhere. The exhibitions and exhibits are entertaining and great. You can certainly spend a whole day here. And the 108 metre high golden Buddha, which towers over the entire complex, is really fantastic.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written October 20, 2023
  • Steven S
    Pattaya, Thailand782 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Must visit combo with the temple
    Like its temple namesake this is another massive complex. Free entry. I took the E02 bus from bay 3 bus station outside MRT Zouying station. TWD70 each way or use your Easycard. Around a 40min bus ride. You can get off or picked up from either the temple or the buddha museum. They are 800ms apart. The complex is easy to navigate. Plenty of shade is provided by structures along the walkways which you will appreciate. I just ambled along admiring the statues, the friezes on the walls, the big buddha etc. There are many shops and stall vendors who sell food, health products, jewelery etc. Certainly worth an hour or two.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written November 5, 2023
  • Andy F
    Devizes, United Kingdom1,291 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    The Commercial Face of Buddhism
    Having recently been to an actual Buddhist monastery very close by, this place struck me as rather more commercial in its activities. THe site is large, with several pagoda-style towers leading you up through gardens to the main buidling surmounted by a very large Buddha statue. There are lots of shops (some quite expensive), restaurants, meeting areas, staues, toilets etc. It didn't feel very reverent to me, but everyone seemed pretty cool with it.
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written November 7, 2023
  • Anthony L
    Singapore, Singapore75 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fo Guan Shan Monastery KaohSiung Taiwan
    Magnificent architecture covering more than 30 hectares! Located at KaohSiung , very magnificent architecture whether you are Buddhist or not. It will take you about 15-20 minutes to walk towards the great Buddha , if you want to tour around the whole place you probably needs 2 hr. At the entrance of the place, there are shops and even Starbucks. It’s listed as the no.4 biggest Buddha in the world at 36m.
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written December 9, 2023
  • Leonhkny
    Hong Kong, China21,474 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Spiritual journey
    Fo Guang Shan is a heaven of spiritual sublimation. A short ride from downtown Kaohsiung, this Buddhist institution is a vast compound of religious teaching and interaction. The landscape of giant Buddha statue and eight symmetrical pagodas has become a postcard of the Taiwanese city. The museum is informative and illustrative of Buddhist history and culture. Volunteer workers there are friendly and passionate about the place and Buddhism in general.
    Thank you for your feedback. Hope you have the wonderful memory of your time here!
    Written February 16, 2024
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled with family
    Written January 13, 2024
  • BertSG
    535 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Simply Amazing
    Take bus E02 from Kaoshiung HSR station. It drops off at either the museum first or temple later. Recommend you drop off at museum, walk to temple and take the bus back from temple....in this sequence. This is because on the return leg from Fo Guamg Shan to town, the bus picks passengers up from temple bus stop first (empty bus) and then from museum bus stop...where there's usually a long queue (which means you may not board, as once all seats are taken up, you wait for the next bus, usually an hour later). We spent 4 hours at the museum. Fascinating views of pagodas and main building. Spend time listening and learning about the history of the religion. View the tooth relic (only one of three in the world). Listen to the monks share insights of the founder, religion and history of the place. Lots of eateries also available. We next walked up the hill, about 800m to the temple/monastery. Spend an hour or two here.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 24, 2024
  • macedonboy
    Glasgow, United Kingdom186,397 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Everything You Need In Buddhism
    This huge complex is a Buddhist centre combining art, cultural & religious museums with education. The entrance to the complex will take visitors through a path lined with pagodas, ending in the Buddha Memorial Museum surmounted by a giant golden statue of Buddha. The path and museum are full of symbolism, referencing such as the Four Noble Truths. The museum has many exhibitions, Buddhist temples & chapel. It would take a whole day to see everything properly. So it’s very handy that there are so many restaurants and cafes on site. Of the museums, the exhibition on Buddhist cave art was stunning, while the Jade Buddha Shrine and Avalokiteśvara Shrine and Golden Buddha Shrine are well worth a visit. Note that the museum does conduct tours in English, but requires advance booking. I think it was 7 days.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written May 1, 2024
  • Dodolady
    Singapore335 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth a visit
    Signed up for a day tour and we started off at this museum. Was great since it was a rainy day. There are a few places within the museum to visit. Will take at least 2-3hrs to fully explore the place. The vegetarian food is yummy. Do cater time for lunch!
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 3, 2024
  • Diane The Traveller
    United Kingdom78 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Not to be missed
    I absolutely loved this place. There are leaflets in English giving you information and at the different pagodas there are short videos to watch explaining about Buddhism. The big Buddha statue sits at the head of the complex and makes for some good photos. You can easily spend a few hours there. I think it is definitely worth a visit.
    Visited April 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 3, 2024
  • Kornelia M
    94 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A place definitely worth to visit.
    We highly recommend to visit this place. It is stunning, well- organised and relatively easy to get there. We took the subway to High Speed Rail station and from there we went by the E02 bus to the museum. The bus costs around NT$80 per person per way. We enjoyed the atmosphere there, it was peaceful. We visited on a Sunday and it was not crowded. This place is huge, so I recommend to visit the Buddha museum part first. (The museum guides/ guards were also very kind and helpful, they told us a few fascinating facts in English. ) Then you can stop for lunch as there are plenty of options ( mostly vegetarian) and then after a break you can go and visit the upper parts right next to the bus stop. It is a good hike, but we were lucky to hop on one of the "shuttle buses" driven by monks. On the way up if you see the giant teapot that's where you can get a fill up in your water bottle or just enjoy the view with a free cup of tea. We also had the chance to try calligraphy. There is no fee but donations are welcomed.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 31, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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rnathan
Surrey, Canada329 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
We arrived by taxi and left by E20 bus. The museum is arranged as an entrance building with shops and food vendors, then 8 pagodas (some of which were closed), then the main hall crowned by an enormous Buddha statue. We did not see the Buddha tooth relic, but visited four stupas at the top level. After a nice vegetarian lunch, we took a free shuttle van up to the monastery, and walked back through the grounds to the entrance. We were impressed by the grounds which are well kept.
Written January 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, welcome to BMC. May good acts, good words, and good thoughts come to you everyday. Buddha bless!
Written February 4, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

TheLeongOhana
United States7,497 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2022 • Solo
I highly recommend visiting if you have the time to go outside Kaohsiung. Taking an Uber was only half and hour and cost approximately 900NTD each way. Much faster than the bus.

The main entrance building was a little commercial with a Starbucks, a hotel, vegetarian restaurant and buffet, and some fast food.

Next was the long walk towards the museum. Instead of walking down the center I suggest veering to the pagodas on the right side. Inside each were different themes (calligraphy, founding of Fo Guang Shan, etc). The ones on the left side were administrative offices, dedicated to weddings, etc. as you get closer to the museum there were alternating panels of Buddha sayings or a snapshot of a key life event. It was cooler walking here as the walkway was covered.

Access to the golden Buddha, all 36 stories tall, was on the third floor above the museum. I did the circumambulation to all four stupas and learned a little about each. Well worth it. Right underneath the Buddha was a room dedicated to Calligraphy. Only accessible if you want to and are able to write Chinese words.

The first floor of the museum was the most educational. The second and third floor rooms were closed. The first floor rooms were dedicated to:

Buddhist festivals
History of Fo Guang Shan
Life of Buddha including a 4D movie that ran every half an hour.
Underground shrines and relics. I learned that they will open one of 48 underground palaces every 100 years. The next one will be in 88 years from now (maybe my grandchildren will come back)!
Jade Buddha Shrine where the tooth relic was stored. No photos allowed plus you must remove your shoes.
Golden Buddha Shrine
Avalokitesvara Shrine (Thailand)

Everyone I met was very friendly and did their best to explain things in English.

Plan to spend a couple hours here as a minimum.
Written September 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for the wonderful feedback! we have four special exhibitions at the second floor, hope you can visit next time.
Written April 9, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Emanuele R
Castel San Giorgio, Italy127 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2023
Very large complex that has several points to visit. I recommend going in the morning and dedicating at least half a day so you can visit the entire complex with peace of mind. Among the various attractions, the giant Buddha statue and the main temple of the complex certainly deserve a mention (inside there are many statues, both large and small). A nice experience!
Google
Written August 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

brbrfur
Vancouver, Canada5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
I haven't seen anything like this before. It was just before the Chinese New Year that I was there and you could see everyone to do their best to prepare the whole place for the big celebration.
Even if it wasn't before Chinese New Year it still incredible place to visit, pagodas, museum everything. There are a lot of volunteers who are friendly and ready to explain to you the history, about Buddha's life, etc.
You can even see the relic of Buddha's tooth.
Written March 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi, welcome to BMC. May good acts, good words, and good thoughts come to you everyday. Buddha bless!
Written September 11, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Kornelia M
94 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Couples
We highly recommend to visit this place. It is stunning, well- organised and relatively easy to get there. We took the subway to High Speed Rail station and from there we went by the E02 bus to the museum. The bus costs around NT$80 per person per way.

We enjoyed the atmosphere there, it was peaceful. We visited on a Sunday and it was not crowded. This place is huge, so I recommend to visit the Buddha museum part first. (The museum guides/ guards were also very kind and helpful, they told us a few fascinating facts in English. ) Then you can stop for lunch as there are plenty of options ( mostly vegetarian) and then after a break you can go and visit the upper parts right next to the bus stop. It is a good hike, but we were lucky to hop on one of the "shuttle buses" driven by monks.

On the way up if you see the giant teapot that's where you can get a fill up in your water bottle or just enjoy the view with a free cup of tea.

We also had the chance to try calligraphy.
There is no fee but donations are welcomed.
Written August 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

danybambi
Bagolino, Italy7,385 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
A must see attraction if you visit Kaohsiung. It can be reached starting from the central station, outside the bus stop you need to look for the E02 express bus which takes you directly to the Fo Guang Shan Museum and as a second stop the Shan Monastery. There aren't many trips so it's not a given that you'll be able to catch it because if there's a queue of people they'll let you on until the bus is full and the others remain on the ground and it may be that you have to wait at least 1 hour before taking another one . Another thing to pay attention to, the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum is closed on Tuesdays, for example on Tuesday we went anyway and calmly visited the Shan Monastery and the next day we went back up to visit the museum. The complex is really large, entry is free and obviously an appropriate dress code is required. There is a lot to visit, various rooms with different types of Buddha statues until you get to the Buddha statue overlooking the museum. The people are really kind and welcoming. You can take photos, except in the internal rooms of the Buddha statues.
Google
Written April 15, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TheOExpress🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇭🇰
Hong Kong, China6,042 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Solo
This is one of the most overwhelming religious sites I have ever visited in terms of scale and it’s an amazing experience to wander round. I don’t even think I saw half of it as I needed to get back to Kaohsiung and there was loads of other stuff in the museum itself so give yourself hours to see it all. The golden Buddha statue, the pyramid in which it rests, the interior shrines, the surrounding stupas and the the nearby towers are all truly magnificent. Really friendly guides around too, all keen to introduce and explain.
Written August 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PaulSiow
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia2,696 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
Majestic building and a very beautiful place to view displays and exhibits related to Buddha. Even for non buddhists like us, the place was nice to visit and informative. The whole Fo Guang Shan area would require almost a day to visit and walk around. Even the grounds are beautiful.
Written October 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BertSG
Singapore535 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Take bus E02 from Kaoshiung HSR station. It drops off at either the museum first or temple later. Recommend you drop off at museum, walk to temple and take the bus back from temple....in this sequence. This is because on the return leg from Fo Guamg Shan to town, the bus picks passengers up from temple bus stop first (empty bus) and then from museum bus stop...where there's usually a long queue (which means you may not board, as once all seats are taken up, you wait for the next bus, usually an hour later).

We spent 4 hours at the museum. Fascinating views of pagodas and main building. Spend time listening and learning about the history of the religion. View the tooth relic (only one of three in the world). Listen to the monks share insights of the founder, religion and history of the place. Lots of eateries also available.

We next walked up the hill, about 800m to the temple/monastery. Spend an hour or two here.

Written February 24, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TalumSunavan
Hualien City, Hualien1,768 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Solo
This time I came to the Buddha Memorial Hall to see the Silk Road Glory~Dunhuang Special Exhibition. It is recommended to work with a professional tour guide in the museum (explanation period), so that you can better understand and understand the essence of Dunhuang cultural relics... verify the historical classics learned in our memory, respond and present them. There are animation displays in the museum, which break away from the rigid display of antiquities in the past and allow visitors to quickly enter the state and feel present. Overall, it's worth visiting, and it's free, so you don't have to go to Dunhuang to find out...highly recommended. The exhibition period is not long, so be sure to take advantage of it^0^
Google
Written March 27, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, Dashu District

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