Taiwan is a large island, nearly 400 km (250 mi) long, lying about 180 km (110 mi) off the coast of China. The island was claimed by the Chinese Empire in 1683 and some of its coastal regions at least were governed by China for more than 200 years. In 1895, following the first Sino-Japanese War, China ceded control of Taiwan to Japan. Japan governed the island until the end of the Second World War in 1945. While in power the Japanese constructed several lighthouses in Taiwan that remain active today. At the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 the collapse of Nationalist forces in mainland China led to a new governmental separation between Taiwan and the mainland, with the Nationalist government, the Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Mínguó, 中華民國), on Taiwan and the Communist government, the People's Republic of China, on the mainland. This separation continues to the present day. For local government Taiwan is divided into 22 districts variously classified as special municipalities, cities, or counties. This page includes lighthouses of the north coast of Taiwan, including the special municipalities of Taoyuan and New Taipei and the city of Keelung. Standard Chinese, often called Mandarin, is a primary language in Taiwan as it is on the mainland, but most residents also speak Taiwanese and there are several other indigenous languages on the island. 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. The Wade-Giles system was in use in Taiwan for many years, but at the beginning of 2009 the Pinyin system used on the mainland became the standard in Taiwan as well. At the present time most place names in Taiwan are still known under their Wade-Giles spellings: Keelung rather than Jilong, for example, and Kaohsiung rather that Gaoxiong. Lighthouses in Taiwan are operated by the Maritime and Port Bureau. The Bureau is carrying out a program to restore and develop the light stations as tourist attractions. Special thanks to Felix Lin for comments on Taiwan lighthouses and permission to present his photos. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. TW numbers, if known, are from the Taiwan List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume P of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112. |
|
|
|
![]() Linkou Power Plant North Breakwater Light, New Taipei, 2021 photo copyright Felix Lin; used by permission |
|
|
![]() Pengjiayu Light, Pengjiayu, April 2017 Google Maps street view by LaaGG ENL (pokepe) |
|
|
|
![]() East Breakwater Extension Light, Keelung, September 2015 photo copyright Felix Lin; used by permission |
|
Information available on lost lighthouses: Notable faux lighthouses: |
Adjoining pages: East: Sakishima Islands | South: Eastern Taiwan | Southwest: Western Taiwan
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted September 11, 2007. Checked and revised February 19, 2025. Lighthouses: 33. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.