A more than 130-year-old lighthouse in southern China's island province of Hainan has been recognized as the "2025 Historic Lighthouse of the Year" by the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation. The Lingao Lighthouse is the first in China to earn this honor. Built in 1894, it's Hainan's oldest surviving modern lighthouse and one of only a hundred globally recognized historical lighthouses. It was restored between 2010 and 2011. The lighthouse stands on a cape overlooking the Qiongzhou Strait. Free public tours and an exhibition hall showcase its maritime heritage and cultural significance.

MOHD ARMA, Visitor from Malaysia "In my country, there is no museum for the lighthouse. I think that one (Lingao Lighthouse Museum) is very good, because it will be good for the young generation to know to learn about the lighthouse itself. The culture for the lighthouse is very, very huge, because sometimes they have no idea about lighthouse, how they build, how they erect the structure."

FRANCIS ZACHARIAE, Secretary-General International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation "This lighthouse of the year, the Lingao lighthouse, is a fantastic example of how you combine an important Asian education with culture, history and also education of the generations to come. So they can see how important this system is for safety of navigation."