The Anping Lighthouse in Tainan

The Anping Lighthouse was located on the site where the Dutch built Fort Zeelandia. It was one of the six lighthouses that the General Customs Commission of the Qing government left to the Japanese (the other five are the Tamsui lighthouse, the Didaodeng lighthouse, the Kaohsiung lighthouse, the Yuwengdao lighthouse, and Eluanbi lighthouse). This modern lighthouse was completed in 1891 and in the beginning boasts a brightness of 100 candlepower (1,257 lumens). Its light could be seen for ten nautical miles. In 1912, it increased to 350 candlepower (4,400 lumens), increasing its range to 14.5 nautical miles and far exceeding its previous capabilities as a traditional lighthouse with a signal light. The guidance and protection it provided ships traveling between Kaohsiung and Penghu was unbroken for several decades despite the changes in political control of the island. After the war, however, Anping harbor was moved elsewhere and the lighthouse fell into disuse.