The 3,000-ton Buddhist church next to Hanshen in Kaohsiung was moved! 5.4 billion development project has new progress

The Kaohsiung Buddhist Church is located opposite Hanshin Department Store and has a history of 72 years. The entire building weighing 3,000 tons was moved to accommodate the new Buddhist Church project.

I was surprised to see a "big temple move" opposite Hanshin Department Store in Kaohsiung! The 72-year-old Kaohsiung Buddhist Church, which weighs 3,000 tons, Fo Guang Shan launched the entire relocation project on the 13th. The old temple is expected to be moved back in November 2027, and a 28th-floor "New Kaohsiung Buddhist Church" is planned to be built next to it. A shopping mall is also planned on the lower floors.

Kaohsiung Buddhist Church is located on Chenggong 1st Road, Lingya District, opposite Hanshen Department Store. It is the first temple and monastery built by Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan, after he came to Taiwan to promote Buddhism. Construction started in 1954 and has a history of 72 years.

In 2019, Heping Wanshou Development Company, a subsidiary of Foguang Shan, bid for 495.8 square meters of land opposite Hanshen Department Store for 578 million yuan. At that time, it planned to invest 5.43 billion yuan, which translated into a price of about 1.166 million yuan per square meter of land rights.

The "New Kaohsiung Buddhist Church" will obtain a construction license in 2024. The construction license shows that it will build 28 floors above ground and 6 floors below ground. The height including the roof projection will be about 124 meters, which is second only to the Zhongtai Zen Temple with a planned height of 136 meters. The new building adopts a mixed development, with shopping malls planned on the 1st to 4th floors, offices on the 5th to 7th floors, lecture halls, meditation rooms, Buddhist halls and attached dormitories and other spaces above the 8th floor, and parking lots planned on the 6th floor underground. In the future, it will combine religious, office and commercial functions.

To dig the basement, move the old temple first

Since the development of the new monastery involves excavation of the basement below the old Buddhist church, in order to completely preserve the original building, Fo Guang Shan decided to move the entire old temple first, and then move it back after the basement structure was completed, allowing the new and old buildings to coexist.

Fo Guang Shan held a launching ceremony for the building relocation project on the 13th. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chimai, Fo Guang Shan's abbot, Monk Xinbao, and more than 1,500 believers attended. The old Buddhist church, including the tower, is 31.4 meters high and weighs about 3,000 tons. The entire building will be moved using the "total excavation method".

According to the project plan, 46.62 meters will be moved out in the first phase, and 48.73 meters will be moved back in the second phase, with a total movement of 95.35 meters. It is expected to be moved back to its permanent storage location in November 2027.

Li Jiani, manager of the trend center of the Taiwan Housing Group, analyzed that Fo Guang Shan is already a well-known attraction in Taiwan. The new Kaohsiung Buddhist Church is located in the city center. Once completed, it will be more convenient for believers from all over the world to visit, and it will also have the opportunity to create a huge religious economy.