Dongding Island () is an 0.0160 square kilometer island in the Taiwan Strait in Jinhu Township, Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan). The island is the southernmost point of Kinmen County. The island is near Longhai City, Zhangzhou, Fujian, China. Name Dongding Island has been known by a variety of names including: Dongding, Tangtia, Tungting Tao, Tungting Hsu, Chapel Island, Tung Ting Island, Dong Ding, Tung-Ting, Tung-ting-seu, Tungting Island, Dongding Islet, Dongdingdao, Dongdingdao Island, and Tung-ting Tao. History The island's mountains were sighted during the Ming treasure voyages on the evening of June 26, 1433. In January 1867, Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet wrote, "It is proposed to put a Light on Chapel Island, the sea mark for vessels bound to Amoy. This light will also be useful to casting vessels generally, as it will remind them of the proximity of the Meriope shoal." According to a plaque affixed to the lighthouse, the lighthouse was designed by David Marr Henderson () and built by A. M. Bisbee in 1871. The lighthouse is round and painted black. The lighthouse was referred to as the Chapel Island Light. In good weather, the light was expected to be visible from twenty-two miles away. The lighthouse was renovated in 1913 and 1927. In September 1954, it was noted in top secret American intelligence documents declassified in August 2000 that Nationalist guerrillas from Quemoy had gone to Tungting Island. When an American journalist visited the island in the early 1950s, the Nationalists kept the light dark so that it would be difficult for ships to enter enemy ports. The lighthouse's color was white at that time. During this period, officers on duty on the island were ideally supposed to be rotated out every six months and guerrillas every two months with supply ship visits once a week. These periodic visits and changes were often delayed by weather and enemy activity. Fifty men were stationed on the island at that time under the command of Captain Chang Yi Ming. According to Captain Chang, attempted landings on the island by communist forces had been fended off by throwing grenades over the cliff. On August 24 and 25, 1958 during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, Chinese Communist and Chinese Nationalist forces clashed in the vicinity of the island. The action was seen as an attempt by the communists to land on the island. The action