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 Guǎngdōng (formerly spelled Kwangtung) is located on the southern coast of the country facing the South China Sea. Its coastline is rugged and irregular, with many islands and reefs threatening unwary navigators. Guǎngdōng is divided into 21 prefectural-level cities. The prefectural-level city of Zhànjiāng is a major port near the south end of the province. This page describes lighthouses of the Zhànjiāng area, including the northern half of Zhànjiāng Prefecture. There's another page for lighthouses of the Léizhōu Peninsula, the southern half of Zhànjiāng Prefecture. The seaport of Zhànjiāng was leased to France as a colony called Guǎngzhōuwān (officially Kouang-Tchéou-Wan and also spelled Kwangchowan) from 1898 until it was captured by Japanese troops in 1943. Kwangchowan was returned to Chinese control in 1946. The Náozhōu Lighthouse shown at right is the only surviving French lighthouse in Zhànjiāng. 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; yǔ (tsu) or tuózi ("lump") is a small island, hǎi is a sea, wān is a bay, hǎixiá is a strait, hé or jiāng is a river, hékǒu ("river mouth") is an estuary, and gǎng (kang) is a harbor. 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. The lights on this page are maintained by the Zhànjiāng MSA office, which is included in the Guǎngzhōu Region. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. CN numbers are the MSA List of Lights (助航标志表) numbers. Admiralty numbers are from volume P of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
![]() 1989 Xiáhǎi Range Rear Light, Zhànjiāng PRC MSA Guǎngdōng Region photo |
|
![]() Shítoujiǎo Range Lights, Zhànjiāng PRC MSA Guǎngdōng Region photo |
|
![]() Dōnghǎi Dǎo Lightfloat, Zhànjiāng PRC MSA Guǎngdōng Region photo |
|
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Guǎngdōng South Coast | South: Léizhōu Peninsula
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted December 17, 2008. Checked and revised April 3, 2024. Lighthouses: 45; lightships: 2. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.