Chinese Name: 彭佳嶼燈塔
Location: Keelung City (Northern Taiwan)
Established: 1909
Did You Know?
An eye-catching target, Pengjia Islet Lighthouse was subject to bombing by Allied planes as many as four times during World War II, and the top of the tower and the lens still have traces of the strafing it suffered during that time. After the end of the war, the government invested in its reconstruction and the lighthouse resumed its service, which it continues to this day. It is an important historical site on the route between Japan and Taiwan, and an important witness to Taiwan’s shipping history.
About 56 kilometers away from Keelung Port in northern Taiwan, there is a small volcanic island named Pengjia Islet, which is home to the eponymous Pengjia Islet Lighthouse. Construction on the 26.2-meter tall Pengjia Islet Lighthouse began in 1906, but strong monsoons and rough seas made it difficult to transport the building materials, resulting in construction finally finishing at the end of July 1909. The lighthouse opened on September 20 of that same year. Pengjia Islet Lighthouse was the sixth brick lighthouse completed and lit during the Japanese rule of Taiwan, and it was the third tallest lighthouse building in Taiwan. It has a history of more than one hundred years and was the most important lighthouse on the Keelung route between Japan and Taiwan during the early to the mid-20th century.
The lighthouse was designed by Japanese civil engineer Ayahiko Ishibashi. A round tower made of white bricks with an octagonal base, it was the last lighthouse in Taiwan to eliminate kerosene lamps, switching to electric in 1993. It has an optical path length of 25.3 nautical miles, and the lamp chamber uses a Fresnal’s revolving dioptric lens with a diameter of 1840 mm, the largest lens in Taiwan. The combination of Western and Japanese lighthouse construction techniques present in this century-old lighthouse, as well as the optical instruments from that time, are currently preserved intact and in continuous operation.
An eye-catching target, Pengjia Islet Lighthouse was subject to bombing by Allied planes as many as four times during World War II, and the top of the tower and the lens still have traces of the strafing it suffered during that time. After the end of the war, the government invested in its reconstruction and the lighthouse resumed its service, which it continues to this day. It is an important historical site on the route between Japan and Taiwan, and an important witness to Taiwan’s shipping history. The lighthouse also demonstrates the importance of maritime navigation and military strategy in the past, as well as being a site of tremendous historical value in modern times.
The lighthouse was originally under the jurisdiction of the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance and was transferred to the Maritime Port Bureau of the Ministry of Transport and Communications on January 1, 2013. The lighthouse currently hosts a chief keeper and several technicians, and daily necessities are provided by supply ships sent from Keelung every month. Since Pengjia Islet is still a military-controlled area and the trip there is difficult, the Maritime Port Bureau has not yet opened the lighthouse to visits from the general public. Due to limited water resources, people on the island still rely on rainwater harvesting for their domestic water supply. At present, the rainwater collection platform, water storage tank, water purification tank, wind tower, and other related auxiliary facilities around the lighthouse are preserved intact, which specifically highlights the characteristics of the site as one where the lighthouse building and the natural environment coexist.
In 2001, the Pengjia Islet Lighthouse was voted 12th in Taiwan’s Top 100 Historic Buildings. On November 17, 2015, it was designated as a municipal historical monument of Keelung City. On December 3, 2021, the Cultural Heritage Review Committee approved the upgrade of the lighthouse from a municipal historic site to a national historic monument.
Pengjia Islet is the northernmost of Taiwan’s outlying islands, covering an area of about one square kilometer. It is an island formed by the eruption of a submarine volcano. Stories say that a Peng family was the first to settle on the island, hence the name Pengjia Islet, or Peng Family Islet. During the Japanese occupation period, in addition to the lighthouse, there was also a meteorological observation station on the island. Due to being under restrictions for so long, Pengjia Islet has been well protected from man-made development and destruction. It retains its natural features and volcanic geology and is home to the best-preserved volcanic geological landscape in Taiwan. It is located on an extension of the Ryukyu Arc and on a major migration route for seabirds, making it an important breeding ground. The surrounding waters are also traditional fishing grounds.