Fangyuan Lighthouse

Fangyuan Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Fangyuan Township, Changhua County, next to Wanggong Fishing Harbor, completed in 1983 as the most recently built lighthouse in Taiwan. Standing 37.4 meters tall, it is the tallest lighthouse on Taiwan's main island. The octagonal tower is identified by its black-and-white vertical stripes; because of local land subsidence, Fangyuan Lighthouse is one of the few lighthouses in Taiwan whose tower height exceeds its focal height, which is 35.7 meters measured from mean high water to the center of the light. It opened to visitors in May 2014, and the sight of the Taiwan Strait sunset reflecting off the tower is a representative landmark scene along Changhua's western coast.

Fangyuan Lighthouse was completed in 1983, making it the most recently built lighthouse in Taiwan; at 37.4 meters, it is the tallest lighthouse on Taiwan's main island, while its focal height is 35.7 meters (measured from mean high water to the center of the light). Because of local land subsidence, it is one of only two lighthouses in Taiwan — along with Taichung Harbor Lighthouse — where the tower height exceeds the focal height. It has been open to visitors since May 2014 and is managed by the Maritime and Port Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Highlights of Fangyuan Lighthouse

Fangyuan Lighthouse is managed by the Maritime and Port Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and is primarily intended to help vessels navigating north and south through the Taiwan Strait identify their position along the Changhua coast. The black-and-white vertical stripe design on the tower forms part of the lighthouse's identification code — different colors and stripe patterns identify different lighthouses for mariners. At 37.4 meters, this is the tallest lighthouse tower on the main island of Taiwan; during daylight hours its position can be identified from a considerable distance, making it the most prominent landmark structure on the Changhua western coast.

The coastline around the lighthouse falls within the Changhua Coast Important Wetland area; the large expanse of mud flat exposed at low tide serves as a feeding ground for waterbirds. Black-faced spoonbills, great egrets, black-winged stilts, and other waterbirds appear frequently during migration seasons. In the evening the sun sets over the western side of the Taiwan Strait, and orange light plays across the lighthouse — one of the most representative photographic compositions along the western coastline. At high tide the water approaches the lighthouse base; at low tide the mud flats spread wide — the landscape changes noticeably with the tides.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Visit

Practical Information

Sources: Maritime and Port Bureau, Ministry of Transportation; Changhua County Tourism Bureau. Photos to be replaced with Dio's own shots.