Lighthouses of China: Jiaxing and Ningbo, 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 funnel-shaped embayment at the northern end of the province. At its western end, it narrows to the estuary of the Qiantangjiang (Qiantang River), which leads to the city of Hangzhou. On its southern edge, the Yongjiang (Yong River) leads to the major port of Zhenhai and the city of Ningbo. This page describes lighthouses standing on or near the shores of the bay, both north and south. The Directory also has a series of four pages covering the numerous islands of the Zhoushan archipelago, which is spread across the mouth of the bay. North to south, these pages cover the Shengsi and Qiqu Islands, the Daishan Islands, the Zhoushan Island Area, and the Southeastern Zhoushan Islands. I am much indebted to Michel Forand for his research on all these areas.

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. The Chinese word for a lighthouse is dēngtǎ (灯塔). 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.

General Sources
Navigation Mark Search
This page searches a long light list for all of China posted by the Shanghai MSA office. Enter a range of CN numbers in the lower pair of search boxes.
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.

Qili Light
1865 Qili (Square Island) Light, Zhenhai
Zhejiang Culture Ministry photo

Jiaxing Prefecture (Northern Hangzhou Bay) Lighthouses

Pinghu City Lighthouses
Jinshan (Dajinshan, Dajinshandao)
2009. Active; focal plane 105 m (344 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) round cylindrical tower with gallery, colored with red and white horizontal bands. A photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located atop a small but high island about 8 km (5 mi) off Jinshan. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F3718.3; NGA 18886.
Waipushan
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 42.5 m (139 ft); white flash every 4 s. 6 m (20 ft) square masonry tower, painted white. No photo available, but Bing has a satellite view. Located on an island off Jiulongshan (Waipushan or Kaokung Shan), a prominent cape about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) south of the Yishan light. Site status unknown. CN-2267.
Guancaijiao (Coffin Reef)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two white flashes every 5 s. 13 m (43 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower, painted black with one red horizontal band. A distant view is available (in the foreground is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid sculpture; the original by Edvard Eriksen is in Copenhagen harbor, Denmark). Bing has a satellite view. Located on a reef about 600 m (0.4 mi) south of the Waipushan light. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. CN-2267.5; Admiralty F3718.53; NGA 18887.
* Jiulongshan (?)
Date unknown. Active(?); light characteristic unknown. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery. Upper portion of the lighthouse is red, lower portion white. A photo is available, and Bing has a satellite view. This new lighthouse appears to be part of a resort development; it may be privately maintained. Located about 1500 m (1 mi) west of the Waipushan lighthouse. Site open, tower closed.
Menshan (Men Shan) (2?)
2007. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white flash every 3 s. 8 m (26 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Shanghai MSA's photo is at right, and Bing has a satellite view. This light marks a sudden narrowing of the bay. Located on an island off a prominent cape about 10 km (6 mi) south of Haiyan. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2271.92; Admiralty F3718.489.
Dawuzishan
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 52.5 m (172 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 10 m (30 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower, painted white. No photo available, but Bing has a satellite view. Located atop an island off a promontory near Ganpuzhen. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2272.
Menshan Light
Menshan Light, Haiyan
PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo

Ningbo Prefecture Lighthouses

Cixi City Lighthouses
Shangyu Gang
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); continuous white light. 31 m (102 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. No photo available, and the tower is not seen in Bing's satellite view of the area. Located at Shangyu, about halfway between Hangzhou and Zhenhai. Site status unknown. CN-2286.1; Admiralty F3716.695.
Wanpanshan (Wanpan Shan, Xiapanshan)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 11 m (36 ft) round fiberglass tower, colored with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Wanpanshan is an islet near the western end of Hangzhou Bay, about 16 km (10 mi) north of the Cixi mainland, about 25 km (15 mi) south of Jinshan, and 20 km (13 mi) east of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2289; Admiralty F3718.4.
Haihuangshan (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 33 m (108 ft); flash every 6 s, white or red depending on direction. 6 m (20 ft) square cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, covered with ceramic tiles colored in black and white horizontal bands. Bing has a satellite view. Located atop a hill (rare on this coast) about 35 km (22 mi) northwest of Zhenhai. Site status unknown. CN-2290; Admiralty F3716.63.
Qizibamei (Dachangtan Shan, Tachangtan)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 39 m (128 ft); white flash every 3 s. 14 m (46 ft) round cylindrical white concrete tower with gallery. An MSA photo is at right, Google has a good satellite view. This light marks the west end of a dangerous reef. Located atop the westernmost of the Changtan islands, about 32 km (20 mi) north northwest of Zhenhai. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2293; Admiralty F3716.64.
Donghuoshan (Donghuo Shan, Tung-ho Shan)
2007. Active; focal plane 55 m (180 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Shanghai MSA has a photo, and Google has a satellite view of the location (taken before the tower was built). This light marks the eastern end of the same reef marked by the Qizibamei lighthouse. Sibling of the Menshan Light (see photo above). Located at the eastern end of Donghuoshan, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Zhenhai. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2337.4; Admiralty F3716.66; NGA 18908.7.
Qizibamei Light
Qizibamei Light, Changtan Islands, June 2003
PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo

Zhenhai District: Yongjiang Estuary Lighthouses
Note: Zhenhai is the port district of Ningbo, a city of more than two million on the south side of Hangzhou Bay. Zhenhai's port facilities lie along both sides of the Yongjiang (Yong River) near its mouth; the center of Ningbo is about 25 km (15 mi) upstream. British forces seized Zhenhai during the First Opium War in 1841, and the port was opened to western trade by the Treaty of Nanjing the following year.
* Qili (Tse-li, Square Island) (1)
1865 (British). Inactive since 1997. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal stone tower with lantern and gallery, painted with red and white vertical stripes; lantern painted white with a black dome. A photo is at the top of this page, a 2012 photo is available, and Bing has a satellite view. Qili is a small island about 6 km (3.5 mi) northeast of the Yongjiang and Zhenhai harbor entrance. When the new Qili lighthouse was built, its historic predecessor was taken down and rebuilt on Little Qili Island, just off the southwest tip of Qili and joined to it by a footbridge. Site open, tower closed.
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. An MSA photo is at right, another photo and a 2012 closeup are available, and Bing has a satellite view. Located at the highest point of Qili. Accessible only by boat, but apparently transportation from Zhenhai is available. Site status unknown. ARLHS PRC-053; CN-2483; Admiralty F3716; NGA 18916.
Hudunshan (Hudun Shan) North Breakwater
Around 2009. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); quick-flashing green light. 11 m (36 ft) round hourglass-shaped fiberglass tower. Entire lighthouse is green. A distant view is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located on the north breakwater of the Yongjiang estuary entrance in Zhenhai. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. CN-2485; Admiralty F3715.3; NGA 18929.
Hudunshan (Hudun Shan, Yongjiang) Entrance Range Front (2)
2006 (station established 1985). Active; focal plane 38 m (125 ft); illuminated with neon lights showing red and yellow vertical stripes the entire length of the tower. 34 m (112 ft) square skeletal tower. Shanghai MSA has a night photo of the new range lights in action, and Google has a satellite view. It appears from the satellite view that the original tower is still standing. Located in a waterfront area on the north side of the estuary entrance. Site status unknown. CN-2495; Admiralty F3715.2; NGA 18930.
Hudunshan (Hudun Shan, Yongjiang) Entrance Range Rear (2)
2006 (station established 1985). Active; focal plane 51.5 m (169 ft); illuminated with neon lights showing red and yellow vertical stripes the entire length of the tower. 46 m (151 ft) square skeletal tower. Shanghai MSA has a night photo of the new range lights in action, and Google has a satellite view. It appears from the satellite view that the original tower is still standing. Located in a waterfront area on the north side of the estuary entrance. Site status unknown. CN-2496; Admiralty F3715.21; NGA 18930.1.
New Qili Light
1997 Qili Light
PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo
* Zhenhai Dukou (Zhenhai Ferry)
2006. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); white flash every 10 s. 13 m (43 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted white with red trim, lantern and gallery painted red. The photo at right is from a Shanghai MSA page on the construction of the lighthouse, a 2012 photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. This new light was built in traditional form to honor Zhenhai's maritime heritage. Located on the west bank of the Yongjiang near the traditional ferry crossing in Zhenhai; the ferry remains in service although there is now a bridge about 2 km (1.2 mi) downstream. Site open, tower closed. CN-2503.5; Admiralty F3714.965; NGA 18930.3.
Meixu (2)
1993 (station established 1936). Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two white flashes every 4 s. 11 m (36 ft) round cylindrical steel tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Google has a satellite view. Located on the north side of the Yongjiang in a sharp bend of the estuary halfway between Zhenhai and Ningbo. Site status unknown. CN-2521; Admiralty F3715.375.
* Jiangnandaotou
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two red flashes every 4 s. 12 m (39 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a square concrete pier. Lighthouse painted with red and white horizontal bands. A photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located on the east side of the Yongjiang near a bend in the estuary and almost directly across from the Zhenhai Ferry lighthouse (see above). Site open, tower closed. CN-2504; Admiralty F3714.97.
Zhenhai Ferry Light
Zhenhai Ferry Light, Zhenhai, August 2006
PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo
Yongjiang South Dyke Spur (2)
2006 (station established 1983). Active; focal plane 11 m (36 ft); quick-flashing red light. 11 m (36 ft) round concrete tower with lantern and gallery, painted red. Shanghai MSA has a photo of the new lighthouse (also seen at right), and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse replaced a red skeletal tower. Located at the end of breakwater dike on the southeast side of the Yongjiang entrance. Site and tower closed. CN-2488; Admiralty F3714.9.
* Changtiaozui (2)
1993 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 18 m (59 ft); four white flashes every 12 s. 16 m (52 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, rising from a square pyramidal concrete base. Lighthouse covered with ceramic times and colored with red and white vertical stripes. Bing has a satellite view. The light from this tower must be obscured to a great extent by recent devlopment of the waterfront. Located in an industrial zone on the east side of the entrance to the Yongjiang River and the harbor of Zhenhai. Accessible by road. Site probably open, tower closed. ARLHS PRC-012; CN-2484; Admiralty F3715; NGA 18928.

Zhenhai District: Huangmang Islands Lighthouses
Note: The Huangmang islands are located in the passage between the mainland and Jintang island (see Zhoushan Island Area), east of the Yongjiang entrance.
Zhongzhushan (Zhongzhu Shan)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) round cylindrical white concrete tower with gallery. A view from the sea is available, and Bing has a satellite view. Located on Zhongzhushan, the westernmost of the Huangmang Islands, about 1.5 km (1 mi) west of the Dahuangmang lighthouse. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2402.5; Admiralty F3714.6; NGA 18922.
Yongjiang South Dyke Light
Yongjiang South Dyke Spur Light, Zhenhai
PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo
Ejiao (Ningbo Gang)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); two white flashes every 5 s. 12.5 m (41 ft) robust square cylindrical skeletal tower with gallery, mounted on a square concrete pier. Lighthouse painted black with a broad red horizontal band. Zhenhai MSA has a photo, and Bing has a satellite view. Located on a reef about 800 m (1/2 mi) north of Dahuangmang island, about 7 km (4.5 mi) east of the Yongjiang entrance and a similar distance east southeast of Qili. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. CN-2401.4; Admiralty F3715.6; NGA 18919.
Dahuangmang (Huangmang Shan) (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 80 m (262 ft); two white flashes every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) square pyramidal white concrete tower. Bing has a satellite view. Located on the highest point of Dahuangmang, about 7 km (4.5 mi) east of the Yongjiang entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2402; Admiralty F3715.4; NGA 18920.

Beilun District: Daxiedao Lighthouses
Note: Daxiedao (Daxie Dao) is an island about 7 km (4.5 mi) in diameter, lying just off the mainland coast about 30 km (19 mi) east of Zhenhai. The island is connected to the mainland by a bridge and is being developed as a port to relieve pressure on Zhenhai and Ningbo. These lighthouses guide vessels in the passage, about 6 km (3.5 mi) wide, between Daxiedao and Damaodao (see Zhoushan Island Area).
Tunimendao (Tunimen Dao, Tuni Zui) (2)
1998 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); three white flashes every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) round concrete tower with gallery, covered with white ceramic tile. A 2007 photo is available, and Bing has a satellite view. Located on a small island just off the northern tip of Daxiedao. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. CN-2424; Admiralty F3714.28; NGA 18968.
Daxiedao (Daxie Dao)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); quick-flashing green light. 6 m (20 ft) round hourglass-shaped fiberglass tower, colored green, mounted on a round concrete pier. No photo available, but Google has a distant satellite view. Located off a large oil terminal on the eastern point of Daxiedao. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty F3714.266; NGA 18976.
Xiaobaiyajiao (Xiaobaiya Jiao, Yazhao Jiao)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 6 m (20 ft); white flash every 3 s. 8 m (26 ft) round concrete tower, painted black. Bing has a satellite view. Located on a reef off Waishenmadao, a small island off the southeastern tip of Daxiedao. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. CN-2446; Admiralty F3714.265.

Beilun District: Zhitou Jiao (Cape Ketau) Area Lighthouses
Note: Zhitou Jiao (Cape Ketau), at the end of the Chuanshan Peninsula about 65 km (40 mi) east of Zhenhai, is the easternmost point of the mainland south of Hangzhou Bay.
Yangxiaomaodao (Yangxiaomao Dao) (2)
1991 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 49 m (160 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 11 m (36 ft) hexagonal cylindrical concrete tower with gallery. Lighthouse covered with white ceramic tiles. MSA's photo is at right, a distant view from the sea is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located on Yangxiaomaodao, a small island about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) off Zhitou Jiao. Accessible only by boat, and landing is difficult. Site and tower closed. CN-2473; Admiralty F3714.22; NGA 18956.
Yangxiaomaodao Light
Yangxiaomaodao Light, Zhitou Jiao
PRC Maritime Safety Administration photo

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Jiangsu and Shanghai | East: Zhoushan Island Area | South: Xiangshan Area

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key

Posted May 12, 2008. Checked and revised May 21, 2013. Lighthouses: 28. Site copyright 2013 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.