The Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum (佛光山佛陀紀念館) in Dashu is a 100-hectare Buddhist complex, opened in 2011 to house a tooth relic of the Buddha. Its landmark is the huge seated Fo Guang Big Buddha on top of the main building. Entry is free, it's closed on Tuesdays, and the E02 bus gets you there from Zuoying HSR in about half an hour.
- Hours Mon, Wed to Fri 09:00 to 18:00; Sat, Sun Front Hall 09:00 to 19:00, Main Hall to 18:00
- Closed Tuesdays (special openings are announced)
- Entry Free, and free parking
- Bus Kaohsiung Bus E02 Harvard Express from Zuoying HSR, about 30 to 35 min
What to see
Walk up the long avenue of pagodas from the Front Hall to the Main Hall, where the tooth relic is kept, with the Big Buddha above. The complex also has galleries, a children's gallery, and tea and sutra-copying experiences. Fo Guang Shan Monastery, next door, opens 08:00 to 17:00, and a free shuttle links the monastery gate and the museum from 09:00 to 17:00 (hourly on weekdays, every half hour at weekends).
Visitor rules
- Dress tidily: no revealing clothes and no slippers.
- No smoking, meat, alcohol or betel nut anywhere on site. The food here is all vegetarian, from the buffet to the Waterdrop Teahouses.
- Photos are fine without flash, but not inside the shrine halls.
- Wheelchairs and strollers can be borrowed free at the Front Hall and Main Hall service desks.
Getting there
- From Zuoying HSR: Kaohsiung Bus E02, the Harvard Express (哈佛快線), from bus platform 3. About 30 to 35 minutes by freeway, 13 buses on weekdays and 17 at weekends between 08:00 and 17:50. The last bus back to the HSR leaves the museum at 18:33. The bus skips the museum on Tuesdays, and it's seated only on the freeway. Fares are by distance, capped at NT$60 with an iPASS or EasyCard.
- From Kaohsiung Main Station: Kaohsiung Bus 8010 or 8009 stop at the museum and at Fo Guang Shan.
- From the Orange Line: the Dashu Blessing Line B bus runs from MRT Dadong or Fongshan Junior High.
Good to know: older guides mention bus 8501. It stopped running to the museum in 2022.
→ More day trips · Meinong and Qishan, further up the same road
Sources: hours, entry, rules and transport from the Buddha Museum and its transport page; E02 timetable from Kaohsiung Bus; background and the monastery from Kaohsiung Travel. Checked October 2026.