The People's Republic of China (中华, Zhōnghuá in Chinese) 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 Jiāngsū (previously spelled Kiangsu) extends southward from the base of the Shāndōng Peninsula to the mouth of the Yangtze River (called Cháng Jiāng in China). The great port of Shànghǎi, now the center of one of the world's largest metropolitan areas, was built on the Huángpǔ River, an artificially dredged estuary on the south side of the Yangtze just above the mouth. Metropolitan Shànghǎi has been separated from Jiāngsū as a provincial-level metropolitan region, Shànghǎi Shì. As the Yangtze approaches Shànghǎi it divides into two main branches, the Běigǎng Shuǐdào (North Harbor Branch) and the Nángang Shuǐdào (South Harbor Branch). The Huángpǔ joins the South Harbor Branch. Below the Huángpǔ the South Harbor Branch also divides into two channels, the Běicáo (North Channel) and Náncáo (South Branch), separated by a broad area of shoals and mudflats. Both the Běicáo and the Náncáo are improved for entrance to the river by large ships. 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; Shànghǎi lighthouses naturally fall under the Shànghǎi MSA. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. CN numbers are Chinese light list numbers. 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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![]() Lightship Náncáo, Shànghǎi, March 2020 MSA photo previously posted by NetEase |
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![]() Bǎoshān Pierhead Light, Yangtze River, Shànghǎi, November 2012 photo copyright James Smith; used by permission |
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![]() Lightship Nánzhī, East China Sea, June 2012 PRC Shànghǎi Region Maritime Safety Administration photo |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Yánchéng and Nántōng | South: Shèngsì Islands | West: Jiāxīing
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Posted April 21, 2008. Checked and revised September 27, 2023. Lighthouses: 23, lightships: 6. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.