Dashu

Dàshù (大樹) is a small Kaohsiung district on the Pingtung border. It is home to two major attractions, the vast upscale temple complex of Fo Guang Shan and E-Da Amusement Park. Its economy is primarily based on agriculture, particularly the cultivation of lychee and pineapple, the latter of which is represented by the Jiuqutang Pineapple Cannery (九曲堂泰芳商會鳳梨罐詰工場), established in 1925 and now operating as a museum.

The district also played a critical role in Kaohsiung’s colonial era water supply, with the Zhuliao Water Intake Station (竹寮取水站) drawing water from the Gaoping River to serve the growing port city from 1913. The Lower Tamsui River Iron Bridge (下淡水溪鐵橋), a national monument completed in 1914, spans the same river, though typhoons in the late 2000s destroyed its central spans.