Baguashan Great Buddha Webcam – Watch Changhua’s Landmark

The Baguashan Great Buddha Webcam looks up a palm-lined stairway to the giant seated Buddha on Bagua Mountain, the hill on the eastern side of Changhua City in central Taiwan. The camera stands on the Nine Dragon Pond viewing platform below the statue and moves between set views. One frames the dark, reddish-brown Buddha on its golden lotus base, with red-roofed temple halls behind it and tall palms on both sides of the steps. Another turns west across the rooftops and high-rises of Changhua toward the flat Changhua Plain and the coast. Afternoon haze often swallows that far horizon, while a clear evening brings a red afterglow over the city and then a spread of street lights.

About the Baguashan Great Buddha

The statue of Sakyamuni Buddha was completed in 1961, and at the time it was described as the largest Buddha in Southeast Asia. Changhua County gives its height as 22 meters (72 feet). It is a hollow concrete figure, and the floors inside hold exhibits on the life and teachings of the Buddha. The site was recognized for its heritage value in 2002, when it was listed as a historic building, and it has long been the best-known landmark in Changhua County.

From the city, Guashan Road climbs to the entrance archway of the scenic area, and from there a grand avenue lined with 32 stone statues of Guanyin leads up to the Nine Dragon Pond plaza. The pond is really a fountain in a semicircular plaza under the viewing deck, where nine golden dragons point their open jaws at the sky. The county installed the camera on this platform, which is why the Buddha view looks straight up the steps, past white balustrades and a row of arches along the bottom of the frame.

Changhua City had 226,564 residents in March 2023, spread over 65.68 square kilometers (25.36 square miles), and it forms part of the Taichung-Changhua metropolitan area. The Buddha stands about 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) in a straight line from Changhua Station, close enough that apartment blocks and office towers fill the lower part of the westward view. The county says that on a good day the panorama reaches ships sailing along the coast, and even through light haze a row of tall striped smokestacks stands out on the far horizon.

Weather and Climate in Changhua

Changhua is warm for most of the year. At the nearby Dacun weather station, the 1991 to 2020 averages run from a high of 21.6 C (71 F) and a low of 12.8 C (55 F) in January to 33.2 C (92 F) and 25.5 C (78 F) in July. April averages 27.3 C (81 F) by day and 19.5 C (67 F) at night, and October is still summery at 29.9 C (86 F) and 21.4 C (71 F). The station records 1,316.9 millimeters (51.8 inches) of rain a year.

Most of that rain falls from May to September, when heavy showers can blur the westward view and leave the palms and stone steps wet in the Buddha frame. November to February are the driest months and bring the coolest air of the year. Haze is the camera’s other weather: on the mid-October day this post was written, a clear blue morning had turned into a milky afternoon by 4 p.m., with the coast gone from view. Because the city view faces west, the sun sets over the plain, and by about 6 p.m. in October the frame shows a red sky over the first city lights.

Things to Do Near the Baguashan Great Buddha

The Baguashan Skywalk, opened in 2016, runs for about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) through the trees of the slope and is billed as the longest skywalk in central Taiwan. The halls of the Great Buddha Temple rise just behind the statue, and the 1895 Baguashan Anti-Japanese Martyrs’ Museum lies about 300 meters (980 feet) away. In late March and early April, gray-faced buzzards pass along the terraced hills of Changhua and Taichung on their northward migration, and Bagua Mountain, in the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area, is one of the recommended places to watch them.

Down in the city, the Changhua Fan-shaped Roundhouse, a short walk north of Changhua Station, dates from the early 1920s and is built around a turntable that fans out into 12 tracks; it also keeps CK124, a coal-fired steam engine from 1936. The Changhua Confucius Temple was built between 1726 and 1728 and is a national-level landmark, as is the Yuanqing Taoist Monastery, founded in 1763 and badly damaged by fire in 2006. For lunch, A-Chang’s Meatballs on Chenleng Road serves the local version of bawan, pork wrapped in a glutinous dumpling made from sweet potato starch.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

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• Lotus Pond Kaohsiung Webcam
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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Baguashan Great Buddha located?

The Great Buddha stands on Bagua Mountain, also called Baguashan, on the eastern side of Changhua City in Changhua County, central Taiwan. It is about 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) in a straight line from Changhua Station.

What can you see on the Baguashan Great Buddha Webcam?

The camera moves between set views. The main one looks up the stairway to the seated Buddha, framed by tall palms and white balustrades, with red-roofed temple buildings behind it. Another faces west over the rooftops and towers of Changhua to the edge of the plain, and a third tilts up into open sky.

What is the weather like in Changhua?

Warm for most of the year. The Dacun station averages 21.6 C (71 F) by day in January and 33.2 C (92 F) in July, with nights of 12.8 C (55 F) and 25.5 C (78 F). Rain totals 1,316.9 millimeters (51.8 inches) a year, most of it between May and September.

How tall is the Baguashan Great Buddha?

Changhua County puts the seated Sakyamuni Buddha at 22 meters (72 feet). Travel guides often quote about 23 meters (75 feet), and some sources give 26 meters (85 feet). It was completed in 1961.

Can you go inside the Changhua Great Buddha?

Yes. The statue is hollow, and its floors hold exhibits on the life and teachings of the Buddha, with sculptures that include phoenixes and elephants.

How do you get to the Baguashan Great Buddha from Changhua Station?

The Buddha is about 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) east of the station in a straight line. On foot, the route climbs Guashan Road to the entrance archway of the scenic area, then follows the avenue of 32 Guanyin statues up to the Nine Dragon Pond plaza.

Is the Baguashan Great Buddha Webcam live at night?

Yes, the stream runs around the clock. In mid-October the westward view shows a red afterglow over the city at about 6 p.m., and after dark it becomes a field of Changhua’s lights. The county’s tourism channel promotes the hill as a night-view spot.

Source: Changhua Travels