The People's Republic of China (PRC), known officially as Zhōnghuá (中华), has a lengthy coastline, many large harbors, and a large number of lighthouses. The country is divided into 23 provinces and 11 other province-level regions of various special types. The province of Guǎngdōng (formerly spelled Kwangtung) is located on the southern coast of the country facing the South China Sea. The coastline is rugged and irregular, with many islands and reefs threatening unwary navigators. The province is divided into 21 prefectural-level and subprovincial-level cities. This page lists lighthouses of the Pearl River (Zhū Jiāng), China's third longest river, including the subprovincial-level city of Shēnzhèn, the prefectural-level city of Zhūhǎi, and the subprovincial-level city of Guǎngzhōu, the provincial capital and a major port. The river's broad estuary, often called the Pearl River Delta although it is not a true delta, leads inland to Guǎngzhōu. Hong Kong and Shēnzhèn are on the east side of the estuary; Macau and Zhuhai are on the west side. There are many languages and dialects spoken in China, but Standard Chinese, often called Mandarin, is official. The pīnyīn system for transliterating Standard Chinese into Latin characters is now the international standard but some locations continue to be known also under the spellings of older transliteration systems. The Chinese word for a lighthouse is dēngtǎ (灯塔). In Standard Chinese jiāo (formerly chiao) is a reef or rock, jiǎo is a cape or headland, dǎo (tao) is an island; yǔ (tsu) or tuózi ("lump") is a small island, hǎi is a sea, wān is a bay, hǎixiá is a strait, hé or jiāng is a river, hékǒu ("river mouth") is an estuary, and gǎng (kang) is a harbor. Lighthouses in China are maintained by the PRC Maritime Safety Administration. The administration is organized in four regional administrations, with district offices in the major ports. The lights on this page are maintained by the Guǎngzhōu MSA office, which is included in the Guǎngzhōu Region. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. CN numbers are the serial numbers used by the Shànghǎi regional office of MSA. Admiralty numbers are from volume P of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Shēnzhèn City Lighthouses
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Zhūhǎi City Lighthouses
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![]() Zhúzhōu Light, Wānshān Islands PRC MSA Guǎngdōng Region photo |
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![]() Róngshùtóu Dǎo Light, Zhū Jiāng Estuary, January 2018 Lightphotos.net photo by Andreas Köhler; used by permission |
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![]() Lightfloat Guìshān Běi, Zhū Jiāng Estuary, January 2018 Lightphotos.net photo by Andreas Köhler; used by permission |
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![]() Tónggǔjiǎo Light, Zhūhǎi, Guǎngzhōu PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo |
Guǎngzhōu City Lighthouses
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![]() Shānbǎnzhōu Light, Zhū Jiāng Estuary, Guǎngzhōu PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo |
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![]() Nízhōutóu Rear Lights and Guǎngzhōu VTC, November 2013 ex-Panoramio Creative Commons photo by Hong Sky |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Eastern Guǎngdōng | East: Hong Kong | Enclave: Macau | South: Guǎngdōng South Coast
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Posted December 17, 2008. Last checked and revised March 19, 2024. Lighthouses: 43; lightships and lightfloats: 3. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.