Taiwan’s lighthouses become major tourist attractions

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan is planning to open two more lighthouses to the public since such structures have become major tourist attractions in the country, the Maritime and Port Bureau said on Saturday

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan is planning to open two more lighthouses to the public since such structures have become major tourist attractions in the country, the Maritime and Port Bureau said on Saturday.

The bureau said that by the end of the year, Qimeiyu Lighthouse on Penghu and Fuguijiao Lighthouse in New Taipei City would be added to the list of lighthouse tourist attractions.

Taiwan has 35 lighthouses, 10 of which are currently open to visitors. The most recent additions to the list of lighthouse tourist sites are Paishachia, Ludao, Fangyuan and Gaomei lighthouses, which were opened to the public over the past two years.

The nationโ€™s lighthouses serve not only as facilities to protect fishing boats and improve security, but also as scenic sites that boost Taiwanโ€™s tourism, said the bureau, which is run by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Prior to 2013, visitors were allowed into only six of the nationโ€™s lighthouses: facilities in Pingtung Countyโ€™s Oluanpi, New Taipei Cityโ€™s Cape San Diego, Kaohsiungโ€™s Cijin, Penghu Countyโ€™s Yuweng Island and Dongju Island and Matsu Countyโ€™s Dongyin Island.

The bureau said that due to the rise in the number of visitors to the 10 lighthouses open to the public, the government has decided to open two more lighthouses.

Qimeiyu and Fuguijiao lighthouses would be renovated and their environs upgraded to accommodate tourists, according to the bureau.

The work would include the installation of drink vending machines inside the lighthouses and the construction of public toilets at the sites, the bureau said. It said that once the number of visitors reaches a certain level, it would consider adding dining facilities.

Last year, more than 1 million people visited Taiwanโ€™s 10 tourism lighthouses, compared with about 880,000 in 2013, according to government statistics.

Oluanpi Lighthouse in southern Taiwan has been the most popular, with the number of daily visitors averaging 1,000, many of them Chinese tourists, the bureau said.

The lighthouse, which was built more than 130 years ago during the Qing Dynasty, is surrounded by moats that were designed to prevent invasions by Aboriginal people.

In 2013, the Maritime and Port Bureau took over the management of the nationโ€™s lighthouses from the Ministry of Finance.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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