Lighthouses of China

A cover from China ! 

China Post issued a set of postage stamps on Oct 28 , 2016 featuring five lighthouses located in the South China Sea. With a simple and elegant design, the stamps showcase multi-functional lighthouses built since 2015.

Huayang lighthouse ( 120 fen)  

Chigua lighthouse (120 fen) 

Zhubi lighthouse (120 fen)

Yongshu lighthouse (150 fen)

Meiji lighthouse (150 fen)

The five chosen lighthouses support safe navigation in the region, reducing risks and accidents. The lighthouses provide services including route guidance, navigation and safety bulletins, improving navigational aid and emergency rescue in their adjacent waters.

The designers of the lighthouses incorporated various Chinese cultural images into the blueprints, conveying the friendliness of Chinese people to foreign seafarers. Completed in 137 days, the lighthouses in Huayang and Chigua reefs set records for the shortest construction time in China's history.

The light emitted by the lighthouses covers a range of up to 22 nautical miles. In addition, the Automatic Identification System and Very High Frequency base stations installed in all five lighthouses further ensure the safety of vessels in the South China Sea.

The construction of these lighthouses has been marred by controversy ! While China has had difficult relations with its southern neighbours like Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, Philippines and Malaysia with regard to territorial claim of South China Sea , the construction of these lighthouses on top of reefs and islands in record time has been China’s strategy to establish its supremacy over these troubled waters !!