Eluanbi Lighthouse

Eluanbi Lighthouse (Chinese: 鵝鑾鼻燈塔; pinyin: Éluánbí Dēngtǎ) is a lighthouse in Kenting National Park, Taiwan. It is on Cape Eluanbi, which is the southernmost place in Taiwan. Cape Eluanbi is in Pingtung County. The lighthouse is managed by the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance. The lighthouse is built between the Pacific Ocean and the Taiwan Strait and it faces toward the Luzon Strait. The lighthouse is open to the public for the whole year. The lighthouse is sometimes called "The Light of East Asia", because its intensity is very powerful.

Eluanbi Lighthouse
鵝鑾鼻燈塔
Eluan Pi
鵝鑾鼻燈塔.jpg
Eluanbi Lighthouse
Taiwan
Location Eluanbi
Hengchun
Pingtung County
Taiwan
Coordinates 21°54′08″N 120°51′09″E / 21.902282°N 120.852622°E / 21.902282; 120.852622Coordinates: 21°54′08″N 120°51′09″E / 21.902282°N 120.852622°E / 21.902282; 120.852622
Year first constructed 1882
Foundation concrete and granite
Construction cast iron tower
Tower shape cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern white tower, black lantern dome
Height 21.4 m (70 ft) (five floors)
Focal height 56.4 m (185 ft)
Original lens Fourth order fresnel
Intensity 1,800,000 candela
Range 27.2 nautical miles (50.4 km; 31.3 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 10s.
Admiralty number P4602
NGA number 13768
ARLHS number TAI-018

History

Eluanbi Lighthouse was built in 1883. It was built by the Qing Dynasty. It was built because a lot of accidents happened in this area. Ships crashed into the reefs in the waters nearby. The Qing Dynasty wanted to prevent accidents like the Rover Incident. W. F. Spindey, who was an English architect that was part of the Royal Geographical Society was hired to build this lighthouse. The lighthouse is the only one in Taiwan that is armed.[1][2] It has a trench around it and a lot of gun holes in the wall. This was needed because many of the local Aboriginal people raided the lighthouse a lot.

After the Treaty of Shimonoseki, Taiwan became a part of the Empire of Japan. Damage on the lighthouse from the First Sino-Japanese War was fixed in 1898 by the Japanese. In World War II, the lighthouse became damaged again during the Aerial Battle of Taiwan-Okinawa.

The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1962. It still works and is a historical monument in Kenting National Park. Next to the lighthouse there is also a memorial of the "Taiwan Eight Magnificent Sceneries".

Eluanbi Lighthouse Media

References

  1. "Eluan Pi Lighthouse". Maritime and Port Bureau. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  2. "鵝鑾鼻燈塔". 鵝鑾鼻燈塔 (in 中文). Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  • Su-fang Li, "The Lighthouses in Taiwan", Yuan-zu Culture Publ. Inc., Taipei county, Taiwan, 2002, pp. 126–131. ISBN 957-28031-2-3 (in Chinese)
  • Lun-hui Yue, "Ocean Navigator-The Fair of Taiwan Lighthouses", Kaohsiung History Museum, Kaohsiung, 2000, pp. 83–86. ISBN 957-02-7455-7 (in Chinese)
  • Customs, Ministry of Finance of Taiwan, "The Concise History of the Republic of China Customs", Taipei, 1998. ISBN 957-00-4861-1 (in Chinese)

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