Lighthouses of Northern Zhejiang

The Chinese province of Zhejiang (formerly spelled Chekiang) occupies the central coast of the country, south of Shanghai 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.

Hangzhou Bay is a large embayment at the northern end of the province. Spread across the mouth of Hangzhou Bay, the Zhoushan Islands include well over 1000 islands, although only 103 are large enough to be inhabited. Lighting this maze of islands requires scores of beacons; more than half the lighthouses on this page are located in the archipelago. Not far to the south, more islands and reefs fringe the hammerhead-shaped end of the Xiangshan Peninsula. Only two of the lighthouses listed (Changtiaozui and Xia-ao) are located on the mainland of China.

Lighthouses in China are maintained by the PRC Maritime Safety Administration. The administration is organized in four regional administrations, with offices in the major ports. All the lights on this page are maintained by the Zhenhai MSA office. In Chinese, jiao or chiao is a cape, dao, tao, yu, or hsu is an island, wan is a bay, and kang or gang is a harbor. Due to competing systems for transliterating Chinese into Latin characters, there are always several possible spellings for the names of places in China.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. CN numbers are Chinese light list numbers. Admiralty numbers are from volume F of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

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General Sources

Aids to Navigation: This English-language web site of the PRC Maritime Safety Administration has data and small photos of many of the lighthouses (click on "Aton Query").
East China Sea Navigation Aids: Lighthouse data posted by the Shanghai Region office of the MSA.
China AMS Topographic Maps: A fine collection of U.S. Army Map Service maps of China, in English, posted by the University of Texas Library.

Luojiashan Light
postcard scan courtesy of Michel Forand

Shengsi Islands Lighthouses
Note: These are the northernmost islands of the Zhoushan archipelago. The Maan or Saddle islsnds are at the eastern end of the group; Sijiao and Huanglong are to the west. Vessels bound for Shanghai to the north or Hangzhou to the west pass near or between these islands, creating a need for many lighthouses.
* Daqianzui Tou (2): 1967 (station established 1957). Active; focal plane 35 m (15 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 8.5 m (28 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. Located at the northern tip of Huanglong Shan, an inhabited island southeast of Sijiao. MSA says the lighthouse is accessible by a hiking trail. Site open, tower closed. CN-1230; Admiralty F3740.08; NGA 18879.
Dahuanglong: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 91 m (299 ft); white flash every 4 s. 16 m (52 ft) round tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available. Located atop an islet off the northeast side of Huanglong Shan. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F3740.06; NGA 18879.1.
Nandingxing (Nantinghsing): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 129 m (423 ft); three white flashes, in a 2+1 pattern, every 9 s. 16 m (52 ft) round tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available. Nandingxing is a small island southwest of Huanglong Shan. Located on the highest point of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F3740.055; NGA 18879.5.
Panyangshan (Banyangshan, Banyangjiao, Button Reef) (2): 1975 (station established 1904). Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); white flash every 3 s. 10 m (33 ft) round concrete tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a white concrete pier. Lighthouse painted black. Panyang is a dangerous reef in the Bai Jiexia Strait (Bonham Strait), an entrance to the Hangzhou gulf on the south side of Sijiao. Located about 15 km (9 mi) southwest of the southwestern tip of Huaniao Shan. Accessible only by boat, and landing is difficult. Site and tower closed. CN-1197; Admiralty F3740; NGA 18880.
Xiaobanian (Hsiao-pan-pien) Shan: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 72 m (236 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 16 m (52 ft) round tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available. Xiaobanien Shan is a rocky pinnacle about 5 km (3 mi) east of Bai Jiexia Shan. Located on the highest point of the islet. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F3739; NGA 18879.6.
Langgang (Lang-kang) Shan (Lukon Island): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 107 m (351 ft); four white flashes every 10 s. 15 m (49 ft) round concrete tower. No photo available. Langgang is an isolated island in the East China Sea about 50 km (30 mi) east of Tsu Shan. Located on the highest point of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. Admiralty F3730; NGA 18902.
Mingjiao (Ming Jiao) (2): 1981 (station established 1964). Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 16 m (52 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. Google has a satellite view. Located on Mingjiao ("bright reef"), a dangerous reef between the inhabited islands of Daishan and Xiushan. Accessible only by boat, and landing is difficult. Site and tower closed. CN-1269; Admiralty F3716.727; NGA 18909.1.
* Putuoshan (Pu-to Shan) (3): Date unknown (station established 1952). Active; focal plane 74 m (243 ft); white flash every 4 s. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Lighthouse painted a deep gold. The MSA page has a photo of the second (1972) lighthouse, and Ning Zhang has a photo of the present lighthouse, which must have been built after 1999. A more distant view is also available. Located at the southwestern tip of Putuo Shan, an inhabited island about 4 km (2.5 mi) off the east coast of Zhoushan island. Accessible by hiking trail. Site open, tower closed. CN-1383; Admiralty F3714.148; NGA 18954.
'Widow Reef' (2): 1995 (station established 1983). Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); two white flashes every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, mounted on a round concrete pier. Lighthouse covered with tiles, black on the upper portion and red on the lower portion; pier painted black. We do not know the proper Chinese name of this lighthouse. Located off a harbor near the southern tip of Zhoushan island; exact location not known. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. CN-1400.
Zhenhai and Zhongzhai Area Lighthouses
Note: Zhenhai is a port on the mainland, southwest of the Zhoushan Islands, at the mouth of the Yongjiang River. Zhongzhai, near the easternmost tip of the mainland at Jetou Jiao, is the terminal for ferries to Zhoushan.
Qili Yu (Qili Shi, Square Island) (2): 1997 (station established 1865). Active; focal plane 51 m (167 ft); white flash every 5 s. 25.5 m (84 ft) octagonal cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and double gallery. Fog siren. Several 1-story keeper's houses. Lighthouse painted white, lantern red. The original lighthouse was a 10 m (33 ft) octagonal stone tower. Located on a small island about 6 km (3.5 mi) northeast of the Zhenhai harbor entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS PRC-053; CN-1219; Admiralty F3716; NGA 18916.
Loutou Jiao (2): 1992 (station established 1983). Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 8 m (26 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered by white ceramic tiles. Google has a satellite view. Located at the southern tip of Tamao Shan, an island in the channel between the mainland and Zhoushan. Site status unknown. CN-1398; Admiralty F3714.26; NGA 18964.
Taohua Dao Area Lighthouses
Note: Taohua Dao is an inhabited island about 12 km (7.5 mi) long located about 8 km (5 mi) southeast of Cape Ketow, the easternmost point of the mainland south of Zhoushan.
Liuheng Dao Area Lighthouses
Note: Liuheng Dao is an inhabited island roughly 25 km (15 mi) long and 10 km (6 mi) wide, lying southwest of Taohua Dao.
Tingtsu Shan: 1991 (station established 1983). Active; focal plane 39 m (128 ft); white flash every 4 s. 12 m (39 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. Google has a satellite view. Located at the southeastern point of Tingtsu Shan, a high, forested island in the Tingtsu Channel, an approach from the southwest to Zhoushan. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1430.
Shangshuangshi: 1957. Active; focal plane 27 m (89 ft); red flash every 4 s. 5 m (17 ft) square pyramidal rubblestone tower, painted red. Located atop an island in the Shangshu Channel, a narrow passage on the west side of Liuheng Dao. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1431; Admiralty F3692; NGA 18978.
Quewei Jiao (2): 1994 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 9 m (30 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. Located on a low, rocky island at the southern entrance to the Shangshu Channel. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1432; Admiralty F3691.8; NGA 18979.
Waijiao (Outside Reef): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 28 m (92 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 15.5 m (51 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. This lighthouse marks the start of the passage around the north side of Liuheng Dao. Located on a low, rocky island off the eastern tip of Mota Dao, about 6 km (3.5 mi) east of the eastern tip of Liuheng Dao. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1221.
Bijia (Pi-chia) Shan: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 117 m (384 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) round concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. Bijia Shan is a small but high island about 5 km (3 mi) southeast of the southeastern tip of Liuheng Dao. Located on the heights at the southeastern end of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1434.
Xiangshan Area Lighthouses
Note: Xiangshan is a roughly triangular peninsula lying between two large embayments. Xiangshan Bay ("Nimrod Sound" during the colonial period) lies to the north and Sanmen Bay to the south.
'Small East Islet' (Niu Bishan Channel): 1998 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); white flash every 6 s. 12 m (39 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. Apparently located on an islet off the northern tip of Dungxu Shan, an island northeast of the northeastern corner of the Xiangshan peninsula. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1435.
'Warrier Reef' (2): 1997 (station established 1949). Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); white flash every 4 s. 11 m (36 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with black ceramic tiles. The lighthouse replaced a much shorter hexagonal tower that still stands next nearby. Located on an islet about 7 km (4.5 mi) south of the 'Small East Islet' light. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1436.
'Little Boar Reef' (3): 1998 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); three white flashes every 6 s. 15 m (49 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with double gallery, mounted on a round concrete pier. Lighthouse covered with red ceramic tiles, pier painted black. Located on an underwater reef about 1.5 km (1 mi) east of the 'Warrier Reef' lighthouse. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. CN-1437.
Ximoban (Hsi-mo-pan): Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); white flash every 4 s. 10.5 m (35 ft) round stone tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tiles. Located on an islet within a reef about 10 km (6 mi) east of the 'Warrier Reef' lighthouse. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1222.
Jiaowei Dao: Date unknown. Active; focal plane 33 m (108 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 11 m (36 ft) concrete tower, painted with red and white stripes. No photo available. Located atop a small island in the middle of Shihpu Bay, the open roads between Xia-ao and Tantou Shan. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F3682.8; NGA 18981.5.
'Ukrainian Reef' (2): 1982 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 30 m (98 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) octagonal pyramidal concrete tower with double gallery, covered with ceramic tiles colored in red and white horizontal bands. Located atop a rocky islet off the eastern tip of Tantou Shan, an inhabited island off the southeastern tip of the Xiangshan Peninsula. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-1446.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

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