Dragon and Tiger Pagodas

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, are one of several impressive Pagodas around this lake. Take your time, and explore the three main attractions, and the multiple of temples and shrines dotted around the area. You will need at least a few hours to see it all properly. It's a beautiful area, and well worth the time.

A must visit for anyone going to Kaohsiung. The lake has plenty of attractions to check out, including the Dragon and Tiger pagodas. We recommend coming at 4-5pm, so you can still see the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas both during day time and at night, when they are illuminated beautifully. Please note that they close sharp at 6pm.

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (龍虎塔, Lóng Hǔ Tǎ) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, are a famous and colorful tourist attraction. Unlike the ancient, stone-carved Dragon Tiger Tower in Jinan, the Kaohsiung Dragon and Tiger Pagodas are a modern, colorful, and interactive cultural experience. They are a highlight of Kaohsiung's tourism scene, famous for their unique design, the folk belief associated with entering them, and their picturesque setting on Lotus Pond. If you go there when you travel the area—it's a famous Instagram spot!"

The Tiger and Dragon Pagodas are an absolutely stunning and iconic spot in Kaohsiung! The colorful temples, detailed dragon and tiger statues, and peaceful Lotus Pond surroundings make it a must-visit place. Walking through the dragon’s mouth and exiting through the tiger symbolizes turning bad luck into good fortune — such a unique experience.

Beautiful spot, best visited in the late afternoon for the view. I went with friends and enjoyed walking around the nearby attractions. There are also local food stalls around the pond — great for a quick snack.

The place is quite new and free to visit. It has great views and a nice location by the pond where people go waterskating, walking, and cycling. There are also a few more similar buildings and impressive temples nearby, making it a lovely area to explore.

It’s a religious monument but also a major tourist attraction. The reflection on the water makes it look surreal. It would be more interesting if you know the meaning of each architectural feature.

One of Kaohsiung’s most iconic sights, featured in almost every photo of the city. Built in the 1970s, it lacks the historic feel of much older temples or pagodas, but it still has its own character — a very 70s vibe — which I actually like. The open mouths of the dragon and tiger give it a slightly playful, almost theme-park feel, yet the location at Lotus Pond is beautiful. The area is worth exploring further, with many other temples, a walkway and bridge leading up to a small hill, and a nice viewpoint. Like most places, it’s at its most beautiful during blue hour, when the lights come on and the mix of warm and cool colors creates a stunning contrast.

Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (Kaohsiung City, Taiwan). Great place to take the kids for some nice photo takings! Try walking inside the mouth of either or both the tiger and dragon. Inside are some flight of stairs to walk up to different levels of the pagodas for great views at each level.

My husband refused to skip the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas when I asked if he would like to cut down our itinerary because they looked cool. And cool they were in-person, too! Although this landmark at Lotus Pond is sort out of the way, it was worth the trip. I mean, I bet a temple like these pagodas don't exist elsewhere... at least I have never seen anything like it. You have to go through the dragon's mouth and exit through the tiger's mouth to leave your bad luck behind. To get to the mouth, you have to cross a very stable, zigzag bridge. Once you enter the mouth, you cross the body of the dragon, which is made up of a blue tunnel lined with 3D paintings on the sides of the wall. It made me feel a little claustrophobic. When you make it through, you'll be at the back of the dragon/tiger. You can take the spirally stairs up the 6 flights of stairs (7 but the last one is blocked off) for an aerial view of outside. Since it's at the pond, there's some scenic and relaxing views. You can cross over to the tiger when you go back down. You have two choices: either walk up the stairs to go up the pagoda or just walk through the body to exit through the tiger's mouth. It wasn't terribly crowded here but there were some other tourists when I went. Since you're already here, you might as well walk a couple of minutes over to the spring and autumn pavilions.

The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas are a landmark here in Kaohsiung and is on a lot of must-see sites when visiting the city. It's a beautiful structure laid out in front of a small pond that makes for a nice day trip where you can explore the older parts of the city. The pagodas were very nice in real life, but aside from them, there isn't much to interact with inside or around the area. The mouths were closed during my visit but at least the scaffolding has since been removed as of March 2025. If you have time and are just coming into Zuoying Station, it's a nice side trip if the train or bus schedules allow for a quick trip.

*** The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (龍虎塔) have been undergoing renovation since June 2023 and are scheduled to reopen in the first half of 2025 *** The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas was constructed in 1976 and feature two seven-story pagodas guarded by dragon and tiger statues. Visitors enter through the dragon's mouth, walking through a tunnel inside its body, and exit via the tiger's mouth for good luck. [How to get here]: Approximately 30-minute walk or 10-minute taxi ride (2.1 kilometers) from the High Speed Rail Zuoying Station Station (高鐵左營站). Another option is taking R35 (紅35) bus from High Speed Rail Zuoying Station Station (高鐵左營站) to Lianchi Tan (Shengli Rd.) 蓮池潭(勝利路). While the pagodas are currently under renovation, visitors should not come here solely for the pagodas as they may be extremely disappointed. Instead, take the time to explore Lotus Pond (蓮池潭), The Spring and Autumn Pavilions (春秋閣), and nearby temples like Zuoying Chiming Temple (左營啟明堂) to discover additional attractions this area has to offer.

Don't forget to enter through the dragon's mouth then out and through the tiger's butt so all your demons and bad luck can be taken away. The park is pretty extensive with many different pagodas situated a various locations. If you have the time, and strength, take a full walk around the whole lake and stop at the different sites. I was only able to do about 1/3 of it. Too hot, my feet were killing me and I still had Cijin Island to do later. The walk is nice and there's a cool breeze, especially in the shade. My only disappointment was that they closed all accesses to the top of every pagoda we went to. I'm not sure if there was a point in time where they allowed people to go to the top.

A must-see when in Kaoshiung. This place is hella cool, check out the lotus pond, listen for the monkeys, instagram-worthy, etc. Breathtaking views at night, one must enter thru the dragon & exit thru the tiger. I hear during the summer months, it also transforms into a water park cuz it's blazing hot. I still prefer coming at night during the winter, as the humidity during the day would be unbearable for me. Kaoshiung is still hot & humid during the winter months, and doesn't rain as much as Taipei; it's the Southern part of Taiwan. 'Til next time ~ enjoy the unique scenery & see you on Yelp (SYOY)!

My friend highly recommended we go to Dragon and Tiger Pagodas and we had one free morning so we decided to go. I had no idea what it was and my friend kept saying "it's a tourist spot". The Dragon and Tiger Pagodas were an amazing temple that are aesthetically beautiful. The temple consists of two towers, dragon tower and tiger tower. The mouth of the dragon is the entrance and mouth of the Tiger is the exit. Each of the towers have a spiral stair case with the top floor giving you an amazing view of the city. The craziest thing about the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas is that they aren't even old. I saw the towers and assumed they were 100+ years old but they were built 1976. Not even 50 years have passed!! You should definitely stop by Dragon and Tiger Pagodas if you have a chance.

Go in through the dragon head and come out through the tiger mouth, and this way has a good meaning, get rid of bad luck and be safe and healthy. Also you could climb up the two towers up to six floors each then enjoy the view and breeze on the top.

I was here three years ago advised not to walk inside of the Tiger's mouth dragon is okay to walk inside the mouth. You can walk in the back outside of Tiger but not in front of their mouth to enter exit from the mouth of the Tiger.

I love the intricate design of this pagoda, it's amazing!!!!! The experience was one of the best I had in kaoshiung.

A great place to start of your tour of the lake. There is parking nearby for 30nt/day if you drive. During the day, I would recommend coming before lunch. There are fewer people and it's not as hot. The view from atop the tiger is beautiful. You can see most of the lake, the temple across the street, and of course the lotuses down below. These towers are the best to climb on the lake!