The donation ceremony for the original design manuscript of Huaniao Lighthouse is held in Huaniao township, Zhoushan. [Photo/Tide News]

After more than a century across continents, the original design manuscript of the Huaniao Lighthouse has returned to Shengsi county, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province.

The donation ceremony took place in Huaniao township on Nov 5, where Felicity Somers Eve, great-granddaughter of David Marr Henderson — the first chief lighthouse engineer of modern Chinese customs — flew from the United Kingdom and presented a copy of the design manuscript.

Built in 1870 at the northernmost tip of the Zhoushan Islands, Huaniao Lighthouse has long served as a vital navigation point between the Yangtze River estuary and the Pacific Ocean. Designed by Scottish engineer Henderson, the lighthouse remains a landmark in China's maritime history and has been listed twice as a national key cultural relic protection site. The original drawings, carefully preserved by Henderson's descendants for generations, offer valuable insight into China's early maritime engineering.

The event marked a milestone in Shengsi's efforts to recover overseas archives, strengthening marine heritage protection and cultural exchange between China and the UK. The county plans to digitize the manuscript and develop exhibitions and publications to share the lighthouse's enduring legacy.