International Buddhist Temple: Vancouver Travel Guide (4.7★)

Yellow roofs over Steveston Highway

Steveston Highway is a wide suburban road of strip malls and farm fields. Then glazed golden roof tiles rise above a red-walled compound, their eaves curling up at the corners. This is the International Buddhist Temple, built in the style of Chinese imperial palaces.

You walk in through a ceremonial gate into a stone courtyard. Halls stand on all sides, and the garden in the middle is where most people slow down. The courtyard is laid out to make you stop, look up and then cross slowly.

Inside the courtyard and halls

Give the details your attention. The temple has carved balustrades, painted beams, guardian figures and gilded Buddha images in the main hall, where the incense is lit. The garden has pools, statues and clipped plants placed between paths, so a slow loop shows you new angles.

Things to look out for:

• The roofline: the yellow tiles and upturned eaves are the imperial signature. Look at them from the courtyard corners.
• The main hall: gilded statues, offerings and the low murmur of people praying.
• The garden: stone paths, water and small sculptures. This is the calmest part of the compound.
• The side halls: smaller shrines that many visitors walk straight past.

Most people spend 60–90 minutes here. Plan on two hours if you like to sit for a while or photograph the architecture properly.

Getting to Richmond

The temple is in Richmond, the city just south of Vancouver across the Fraser River’s North Arm. Driving is the simplest option. From downtown, take Oak Street or Granville Street south to Highway 99, then exit at Steveston Highway. Without heavy traffic the drive takes about half an hour.

On transit, take the Canada Line SkyTrain to Richmond–Brighouse, then a local bus or a short taxi ride east along Steveston Highway. Check TransLink’s trip planner for the current route before you leave, because bus connections out here run less often than they do in the city.

Reading the room: temple manners

This is a working temple, not a museum. People come here to pray, so your behaviour matters more than your camera.

• Dress with some modesty: cover your shoulders and avoid very short shorts. Take your hat off inside the halls.
• Keep your voice low, especially near the altars and anyone kneeling.
• Follow the photography signs. Rules can differ between the courtyard and the inside of the halls, and the posted notices are what count.
• Walk around worshippers, never between them and an altar.
• Leave offerings alone. Fruit, flowers and incense on the altars are not props.
• Donation boxes are the usual way visitors show thanks. Give what you like, quietly.

Group tours are available by appointment only, so contact the temple ahead if you are bringing a class or club. Individual visitors can simply walk in during opening hours.

When to go, and when not to

Timing decides how peaceful your visit feels. On weekdays it is quietest between 9am and 10am and again between 4pm and 5pm. Those are the windows to aim for if you want the garden to yourself.

Weekends are a different place. The busy period usually runs from 10am to 5pm, which is the whole of the open day after the first hour. Try not to arrive mid-morning on a Saturday or Sunday expecting calm. If a weekend is your only option, come early.

At the moment the gates open 9am–5pm every day of the week. Temple hours can change around festivals and holidays, so check the temple’s official channels before a special trip. Buddhist festival days, such as celebrations around the Buddha’s birthday in spring, bring far bigger crowds and more ceremony.

Pairing it with a Richmond afternoon

The temple combines well with the rest of Richmond. Continue west along Steveston Highway to Steveston Village, the old fishing port at the mouth of the Fraser. It has boardwalks, fish sold straight off the boats at the public dock and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site.

Or go north toward central Richmond, known across the region for its Cantonese and regional Chinese restaurants, dim sum halls and Asian malls. A morning at the temple followed by lunch in central Richmond makes an easy half-day out of Vancouver.