Qualla: Gaomei Lighthouse

Gaomei Lighthouse: Introduction

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Vanbasten 23, CC BY-SA 4.0. The light has been dark for over forty years. Built in 1967 to guide ships approaching the Taiwan Strait coastline, the Gaomei Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1982 when its lighting equipment was transferred to the newer lighthouse at the Port of Taichung. What might have been a quiet end to a short working life turned out to be the beginning of something else. Renovated and reopened to the public on September 27, 2014, the lighthouse now draws far more visitors than it ever would have in service — not because anyone needs its light, but because of what surrounds it.

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Image: Vanbasten 23 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Gaomei Lighthouse: Fifteen Years of Active Duty

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Rybloo, CC BY-SA 3.0. The lighthouse was built in 1967 with steel-reinforced concrete and stands 34 meters tall. Its working life was brief: fifteen years of operation before its navigational equipment was relocated to the Port of Taichung's lighthouse in 1982, rendering it functionally obsolete. The ...

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Image: Rybloo | CC BY-SA 3.0

Gaomei Lighthouse: Red and White at the Water's Edge

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 温文佑, CC BY-SA 4.0. Visually, the Gaomei Lighthouse is immediately recognizable: painted in alternating red and white horizontal bands, it rises from the flat coastal plain of Qingshui District at a point where the land gives way to the tidal flats of the Gaomei Wetlands. The 34-meter height, modest...

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Image: 温文佑 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Gaomei Lighthouse: A Monument to Its Own Retirement

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Lin Wen Hung, CC BY-SA 4.0. There is something pleasantly ironic about the Gaomei Lighthouse's second life. It served as navigational infrastructure for fifteen years, guiding ships through the strait. It has now been a visitor attraction for over a decade, which means it has already outlasted its operation...

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Image: Lin Wen Hung | CC BY-SA 4.0

Gaomei Lighthouse: Getting There

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit vegafish, CC BY-SA 2.5. The lighthouse sits in Qingshui District, accessible from Taichung Port Station on the Taiwan Railway, with the structure located to the west of the station. Qingshui is one of the coastal districts of Taichung City, set between the mountains that form the city's eastern backdrop...

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Image: vegafish | CC BY-SA 2.5