Guanghai Seaview Pavilion and Beacon Tower

　　During the Ming Dynasty, a beacon tower was built on the Purple Granite Summit. The tower is five meters high and made of granite blocks, forming a square-shaped platform with battlements. Climbing onto the platform, you can see a three-meter-diameter circular pit dug in the center of the top, which was used to store kindling. Today, it is overgrown with weeds and shrubs. Standing on the beacon tower, through the gaps in the tall trees on the mountain, you can gaze out at the sea surface shimmering with sunlight. Historical records indicate that since the Ming Dynasty, due to frequent harassment by Japanese pirates along China’s coast, in the 27th year of the Hongwu reign (1394 AD), Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the construction of 36 coastal defense forts stretching from Tianjin’s Dagu Estuary in the north to Fangcheng in Guangxi in the south. Troops were stationed there to guard the coasts, and Guanghai was one of them. Additionally, beacon towers were set up on elevated coastal areas. Once an enemy was spotted, the beacon towers would light the kindling to send smoke signals as alarms, prompting rapid military response from the forts. In the Ming Dynasty, three beacon towers were built along the coast within Guanghai territory, with the Purple Granite Summit Beacon Tower situated in the center. The eastern tower was built on the coastal hill near the mouth of the Datong River, and thus the area continues to be known as “Beacon Point.” The western tower was built on Chicken Coop Hill at the western protruding part of Guanghai Bay. These three beacon towers form an asymmetrical triangular formation, enabling them to communicate visually across the sea.

　　Address: Guanghai Town, Taishan City