Eluanbi Lighthouse Audio Guide

Eluanbi Lighthouse: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Eluanbi Lighthouse

   Welcome to the very bottom of the main island of Taiwan. You are standing at Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost point of the main island, and Eluanbi Lighthouse, known in Chinese as 鵝鑾鼻燈塔, is the landmark that crowns it. It sits near Eluan Village in Hengchun Township, in Pingtung County, inside the Kenting area. This cape is a true geographic dividing line. It separates South Bay from Banana Bay, and it is also where the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea meet the Philippine Sea. Ships have used this corner of the world as a reference point for a very long time, which is exactly why a lighthouse was built here. The tower has more than 140 years of history behind it. It is famous for a design you will not find on any other Taiwanese lighthouse, a fortified one, and in 2024 it was elevated to the status of a National Historic Site. Over the next few stops, we will look at why it was built, how it was defended, and how it was destroyed and brought back to life.

2. 02

   Why Eluanbi Lighthouse Was Needed

   Picture this coast in the nineteenth century. Strong currents sweep around the cape, and just offshore lie the Qixingyan reefs. Together they made shipwrecks common around Cape Eluanbi in the early modern era. For a captain rounding the southern tip of Taiwan in the dark, this was one of the places you least wanted to get wrong. Two events pushed the matter. In 1867 the ship Rover was wrecked in this region, and in 1871 came the Mudan incident. Those episodes helped bring about the building of a lighthouse here. The project was carried out by the Imperial Maritime Customs Service, under the British inspector Robert Hart. Construction began in 1881, and the tower was completed in 1883. Hart placed the work in the hands of an English engineer, John Reginald Harding, with the architect W. F. Spindey. The result was Taiwan's first Western-style lighthouse of this kind at the island's southern end, built to guide ships through one of the region's busiest and most dangerous sea lanes.

3. 03

   A Lighthouse Built Like a Fortress at Eluanbi Lighthouse

   Here is what makes Eluanbi Lighthouse unique in Taiwan. It is described as the only armed lighthouse on the island. When it was built, the tower was ringed by a ditch about 6 meters deep and equipped with Gatling guns, meant to repel Paiwan Indigenous forces. A lighthouse that doubles as a stronghold tells you a lot about how tense this frontier was at the time. The human effort was considerable too. A man named Wang Fulu oversaw the project, and 500 soldiers were sent to protect the work. Even getting materials ashore was a challenge, because the beaches here have heavy swells that make landing difficult. To solve that, the builders dynamited coral around a nearby creek and constructed a concrete jetty 52 meters long, about 170 feet, for landing personnel and supplies. So as you look at the grounds, think of more than a navigation aid. This was a defended outpost, built on a coral reef coast, with soldiers, engineers and laborers all working to put a light at the edge of the map.

4. 04

   Destruction and Rebirth of Eluanbi Lighthouse

   The story takes a dramatic turn in 1895. When Taiwan was ceded to Japan, the retreating Qing forces destroyed the original tower. The light that had been built with so much effort was gone within little more than a decade of its completion. The lighthouse you see today is the result of rebuilding. The Republic of China rebuilt it in 1947, and in 1962 it was refurbished with a powerful Fresnel lens. That lens is part of what earned the lighthouse its nickname, the Light of East Asia, for its exceptionally bright beam. Then came the opening to visitors. The surrounding Eluanbi Park opened to the public on the twenty-fifth of December, 1982, and the lighthouse itself welcomed regular visitors 10 years later. Finally, in 2024, it was elevated to a National Historic Site, recognizing its place among the earliest lighthouses in Taiwan. A working navigation light, a ruin, a rebuilt tower, a park attraction and now a protected monument: very few buildings have lived so many lives.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off from Eluanbi Lighthouse

   Before you wander on, here is one more thought about the name. Eluanbi is said to come from a Southern Paiwan word, goran, meaning sail, and it is linked to a rock formation on the western side of nearby Banana Bay that resembles a billowing sail. Take a moment to scan the coastline and see what shapes the land and sea make for you. The lighthouse sits within a grassy park, with hiking trails that lead through tropical forest and coral rocks, so it rewards unhurried exploring. Nearby in Eluan Village you will also find Eluanbi Park, Longpan Park and the marker for the southernmost point of Taiwan. If you are planning your visit, the lighthouse is at Lighthouse Road in Eluan Village, and the Kenting shuttle buses on the Blue Line and Yellow Line stop at Eluanbi Lighthouse. Opening hours run from around 8 a.m. until late afternoon, with ticket sales ending a little before closing, so check the posted hours on the day. Then keep looking: the cape, the reefs and the sea all have more stories to tell.