Lighthouses of China: Northern Tàizhōu, Zhèjiāng

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 Zhèjiāng (formerly spelled Chekiang) occupies the central coast of the country, south of Shànghǎi and north of the Formosa Strait. The province faces east on the East China Sea. For the most part the coastline is hilly and irregular, with more than 3000 islands of all sizes offshore.

Zhèjiāng is divided into eleven prefectural-level cities. This page lists lighthouses of the northern half of the prefectural-level city of Tàizhōu in the central part of the province, including the Sānmén Bay area and the port of Jiāojiāng (formerly called Hiamen). This area did not attract much foreign interest during the colonial period and the European powers built very few lighthouses in the area. As a result all the lights listed are of recent origin and modern design, like the Niútóujǐngshān lighthouse at right.

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. All the lights on this page are maintained by the Wēnzhōu MSA office, which is part of the Shànghǎi Region.

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; (tsu) or tuózi ("lump") is a small island, hǎi is a sea, wān is a bay, hǎixiá is a strait, or jiāng is a river, hékǒu ("river mouth") is an estuary, and gǎng (kang) is a harbor.

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.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - China
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
Chinese English Pinyin Dictionary
A useful tool for juggling the representations of Chinese names.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Zhèjiāng,


Niútóujǐngshān Light, Jiāojiāng (Hǎimén)
PRC MSA Shànghǎi Region photo

Sānmén County Lighthouses
Cháng Yǔ
1962. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) hexagonal brick tower, covered with white ceramic tiles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. This light and the next three were formerly maintained by the Tàizhōu Prefecture Port Authority; they were transferred to MSA control in 2001. Located on a small island in upper Sānmén Bay, about 7 km (4 mi) northeast of Sānmén. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2615; Admiralty P3682.424.
Minyújiāo (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 8 m (26 ft) concrete tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Located on a small island in lower Sānmén Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2627.03; Admiralty P3682.405.
Diǎndēngdǎo
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) white concrete tower. No photo available but Google has a distant satellite view. Located on a small island in the southern entrance to Sānmén Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2627; Admiralty P3682.245.
Sānmén Yángjiāo (2?)
Date unknown (station established 1962). Active; focal plane 8 m; white flash every 4 s. 9 m (30 ft) square cylindrical white concrete tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. This light was described as hexagonal on an MSA page (no longer online), so it is likely the tower has been rebuilt recently. Located on a reef in the southern entrance to Sānmén Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2626; Admiralty P3682.4.
Xiǎoniúzuǐ
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) round concrete tower colored with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the eastern tip of a former island (now joined to the mainland by fill) at the southern entrance to Sānmén Bay. Site status unknown. CN-2625.5; Admiralty P3682.23.
Píngjiāo (Píng Jiāo)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); four white flashes every 10 s. 6 m (20 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower, covered with white ceramic tiles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on a reef in the southern entrance to Sānmén Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2625; Admiralty P3682.2.
Yànkūnshān
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 32.5 m (107 ft); white flash every 3 s. 12 m (39 ft) white concrete tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located at the eastern tip of an island south of the entrance to Sānmén Bay. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2623.5; Admiralty P3682.1.
Qīngshìdòu
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13.5 m (44 ft); white flash every 5 s. 8 m (26 ft) concrete tower colored with black and white horizontal bands. Google has a satellite view. Located on a small island about 5 km (3 mi) east of Yànkūnshān. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2623.3; Admiralty P3682.25.
Dàdiézhuānshān (Pǔbà Gǎng)
2006(?). Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 3 s. Approx. 7 m (23 ft) round (?) white concrete tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located atop a small island in the center of the entrance to Pǔbà Bay, an inlet about halfway between Sānmén and Tàizhōu Bays. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2635.3; Admiralty P3680.5.

Línhǎi City: Dōngjī Islands Lighthouses
The mostly-inland county-level city of Línhǎi includes the Dōngjī Islands, a loose group scattered across the northern entrance to Tàizhōu Bay.

Fànbìdǎo (Fànbì Dǎo) (2)
1997 (station established 1959). Active; focal plane 23 m (79 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) hexagonal brick tower, covered with white ceramic tiles. An MSA photo is at right and Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a small island southeast of the entrance to Pǔbà harbor. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2638; Admiralty P3680.2.
Xiǎo'éguāndǎo
2014. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) round white concrete tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located on a small island off the west end of Xiǎo'éguāndǎo, the northernmost of the Dōngjī Islands. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2637.5; Admiralty P3680.43.
Fanbidao Light
Fanbidao Light
PRC MSA Shànghǎi Region photo
 
Shuǐniútóujǐngdǎo (Shuǐniútóujǐng Dǎo, Kinmendao, Kinmen Tao) (2)
1959 (station established 1955). Active; focal plane 57 m (187 ft); white flash every 4 s. 9 m (30 ft) hexagonal stone tower with lantern and gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located on an islet off the northeastern tip of Shuǐniútóujǐngdǎo (Kinmendao), one of the northernmost of the Dōngjī Islands, about 50 km (30 mi) east northeast of Jiāojiāng. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2639; Admiralty P3680.4.
Xiǎoluó'èrdǎo
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) concrete tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a small island about 8 km (5 mi) west of Shuǐniútóujǐngdǎo. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2638.1; Admiralty P3680.15.
Dàluó'èrdǎo
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white flash every 4 s. 13 m (43 ft) white concrete tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located at the west end of an island about 12 km (7 mi) west of Shuǐniútóujǐngdǎo. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2638.2; Admiralty P3680.1.
Dōngjīdǎo (Dōngjī Dǎo, Tung-chi Tao) (2)
1959 (station established 1955). Active; focal plane 91 m (299 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 10 m (33 ft) round stone tower with lantern and gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. MSA's photo is at right and Bing has a satellite view. Located at the eastern tip of Dōngjīdǎo, the easternmost of the Dōngjī Islands, about 50 km (30 mi) east of Jiāojiāng. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2640; Admiralty P3681; NGA 18983.
Làitóu Yǔ
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 24.5 m (80 ft); white flash every 3 s. 8 m (26 ft) round white concrete tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located on a small island off the north coast of Dōngjīdǎo. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2640.5; Admiralty P3680.8.
Wǔpéng Yǔ
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 41 m (135 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 6 m (20 ft) round white concrete tower. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located on a small island about 6 km (4 mi) south southwest of Dōngjīdǎo. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2641.1; Admiralty P3680.7.
Dàgǔpáidǎo
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16.5 m (54 ft); white flash every 5 s. 9 m (30 ft) concrete tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located on a small island about 3 km (2 mi) northeast of Xiàjiéshān. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2639.2; Admiralty P3680.35.
Xiàjiéshān (Xiàjié Shān, Toumenshan, Toumen Shan) (3)
1994 (station established 1955). Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 9.5 m (31 ft) round stone tower with lantern and gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. No photo available but Google has a very distant satellite view. Located at the northeastern tip of Xiàjiéshān (Toumenshan), the southwesternmost island of the Dōngjī group. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2642; Admiralty P3680.3.
Xiǎozhúshān (Xiǎozhú Shān, Ta-chu) (3)
1990 (station established 1955). Active; focal plane 42 m (138 ft); white flash every 4 s. 10 m (33 ft) round cylindrical stone tower with gallery, covered with ceramic tiles, colored white with black horizontal bands at the top and bottom. The lens and electrical equipment had to be replaced after being struck by lightning in July 1996. No photo available but Google has a very distant satellite view. Located on an islet off the northwestern coast of Xiàjiéshān (Toumenshan). Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2643; Admiralty P3680.
Dongjidao Light
Dōngjīdǎo Light
PRC MSA Shànghǎi Region photo
Yángjiāo (Tàizhōu Wān) (3)
1994 (station established 1954). Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); three quick white flashes every 10 s. 12.5 m (41 ft) hexagonal cylindrical stone tower with gallery, covered with ceramic tiles, colored black with a yellow horizontal band. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a dangerous reef about 5 km (3 mi) northwest of Xiàjiéshān (Toumenshan). Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2644; Admiralty P3680.25; NGA 18982.5.
Bǎijiāshān (Bǎijiā Shān)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); white flash every 3 s. 8 m (26 ft) round concrete tower, colored white with red horizontal bands. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Located on a skerry at the southeastern end of the Dōngjī Islands. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2641.11; Admiralty P3679.5.
Dàzhúshān
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); four white flashes every 10 s. round white concrete tower. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on the northeastern point of an island northeast of the entrance to Tàizhōu Bay. Site status unknown. CN-2644.03; Admiralty P3680.05.

Jiāojiāng District: Hǎimén Harbor and Approaches Lighthouses
Tàizhōu (Taichow) Bay is the port of Jiāojiāng ("Jiao River"), formerly called Hǎimén ("Sea Gate"). The city's name was changed in 1981 to avoid confusion with other Hǎiméns in Jiāngsū and Guǎngdōng Provinces. However, the city is still called Hǎimén in many contemporary sources.

Yījiāngshāndǎo (Běiyījiāngshāndǎo)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18.5 m (60 ft); white flash every 3 s. 12 m (39 ft) white concrete tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the southwestern tip of an island about 40 km (25 mi) east southeast of Jiāojiāng. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2644.8; Admiralty P3678.5.
Chēngjiāodǎo (Chēngjiāo Dǎo, Chengji Shan) (2)
1993. (station established 1955). Active; focal plane 26 m (89 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 10 m (33 ft) round stone tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on an islet in the entrance to Tàizhōu Bay, about 25 km (15 mi) east southeast of Jiāojiāng. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2645; Admiralty P3678.
* Niútóujǐngshān (Niútóujǐng Shān, Dongshanjiao) (3)
1978 (station established 1954). Active; focal plane 33 m (108 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 13 m (43 ft) round concrete tower with double gallery, covered with red ceramic tiles. MSA's photo is at the top of this page and Google has a satellite view. This seems to be Tàizhōu's best known lighthouse but photos are hard to find. Located on a wooded ridge that interrupts the quays of Jiāojiāng (Hǎimén) harbor, on the south side of the Lingjiang estuary. Site appears open, tower closed. CN-2650; Admiralty P3677.5.
Chángshùnbà No. 1
2000. Active; focal plane 9 m (30 ft); four yellow flashes in a short-long-long-short pattern every 12 s. 9 m (30 ft) round strongly conical concrete tower, mounted on four concrete piles. Lighthouse painted orange; the tower also carries an X-shaped daymark. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. This light, which marks a shoal parallel to the main channel in Jiāojiāng's harbor, was built by the Tàizhōu Prefecture Port Authority and transferred to MSA in 2001. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. CN-2650.1; Admiralty P3677.

Línhǎi City: Lin River Lighthouses
The Jiāo River is called the Lin River above Jiāojiāng (Hǎimén). The river is navigble to downtown Línhǎi. The river lights are not listed by the Admiralty.

Dùtóulǐng
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12.5 m (41 ft); white flash every 4 s. 7.5 m (25 ft) round concrete tower colored with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on the north side of the river about 8 km (5 mi) southeast of Línhǎi. Site status unknown. CN-2661.1.
Shàngwǔdù
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 11.5 m (37 ft); red flash every 4 s. 7.5 m (25 ft) round concrete tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the tip of a forested headland in a sharp bend of the river about 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Línhǎi. Site status unknown. CN-2663.1.
Lóngjiǎozhuǎ ("Dragon's Claw")
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); white flash every 4 s. 8.5 m (25 ft) round barbell-shaped white fiberglass tower. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located on a bluff on the south side of the river in downtown Línhǎi. Site status unknown. CN-2665.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Shípǔ Area | South: Southern Tàizhōu

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key

Posted June 9, 2008. Checked and revised December 2, 2023. Lighthouses: 30. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.