The Dongquan Lighthouse () or Dongju Island Lighthouse () is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on Dongju Island,

Juguang Township Juguang (Wade–Giles: Chü-kuang) may refer to: *Juguang, Lienchiang (), Republic of China (Taiwan) * Juguang Tower a tower in Jincheng Township, Kinmen County, Republic of China (Taiwan) * Wanda-Zhonghe-Shulin line, an under construction line of ...

Lienchiang County The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (, ; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China ( ...

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(Taiwan).

History

The lighthouse was built by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in 1872 to guide ships to

Fuzhou Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute t ...

during the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

when they were forced to open up along with four other treaty ports for trading. It was designated as a second-grade historic site in 1988 by the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. Until 2013, the lighthouse came under the administration of

Customs Administration The Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance (CA; ) is the agency of the Ministry of Finance of Taiwan (ROC) dealing with customs policies and regulations in Taiwan. Republic of China is not a Member of World Customs Organization but ROC ha ...

of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

before it was changed to

Maritime and Port Bureau The Maritime and Port Bureau (MPB; ) is the port authority under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for building a quality environment for the maritime industry, reinforce maritime cap ...

of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Architecture

The lighthouse is connected to the office annex building via a 30-meter long windbreak wall.

Features

The lighthouse features the Lighthouse Museum, opened in the English-style building in June 2008. An artist-in-residence program based at the lighthouse was established in June 2019.

Technical specification

It can cast a beam of light that can be seen up to 16.7 nautical miles away.

References

External links