The Wuqiu 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 ...

in Daqiu Village, Wuqiu Township (Ockseu),

Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...

(Quemoy),

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 ...

(Fukien),

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 constructed by the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1874 with engineer David Marr Henderson and deputy engineer John Ropinald to serve as navigation aid for ships sailing between

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 ...

and

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...

. The lighthouse lost its top structure during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was repaired afterwards to become a lower black lighthouse in 1947. However, the lighthouse became inactive in 1951 as part of

military strategy Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek word '' strategos'', the term strategy, when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow s ...

due to the tension with

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

. In 1960-1975, works were made to improve the lighthouse, such as concreting the wall, increasing its height, adding house inside the wall and creating a connecting tunnel. In 2001, the lighthouse was officially closed after it was placed under the jurisdiction of the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu ...

. On 23 July 2017, the

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 ...

signed an agreement with the armed forces to take over the lighthouse. Currently, the Wuqiu Township government is trying to register the lighthouse to be a national historic site.

Architecture

The lighthouse tower is a

cylindrical A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...

tower with lantern and gallery. It is located on the highest point of Daqiu Island.

Technical details

This manned-lighthouse focal plane is 87 meters, radiating a white flash every 5 seconds.

Lightkeepers

* 1885 - C.M. Peterson (in charge) and J. Chapman

References

External links