Guningtou, Taiwan

Guningtou, Taiwan: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Guningtou is a coastal location on Taiwan's Kinmen Island, positioned in close geographic proximity to mainland China. As a submarine cable landing point, it serves as a terminus for a short cross-strait connection, linking Taiwan directly to China across a narrow stretch of water. One submarine cable currently lands at Guningtou, making it a single-cable landing point within Taiwan's broader submarine cable infrastructure.

The cable landing here — the Cross-Straits Cable Network (CSCN) — represents one of the more geographically distinctive connections in the region, spanning only 21 km to bridge the Taiwan Strait at one of its narrowest points. This short-haul corridor links Guningtou directly with a landing point in China, enabling direct bilateral connectivity between the two territories.

Cables Landing at Guningtou

The Cross-Straits Cable Network (CSCN) is the sole submarine cable landing at Guningtou. With a length of just 21 km, it is among the shortest submarine cable systems in the region. The cable reached ready-for-service (RFS) status in 2012 and currently carries a draft status designation. Its endpoints span two territories — China and Taiwan — making it a direct bilateral link across the Taiwan Strait. The extreme brevity of this cable reflects the geographic closeness of the two landmasses at this particular point along the strait.

Regional Context

Within Taiwan's network of 21 submarine cable landing points, Guningtou hosts a single cable, placing it in the top 62% of landing points in the country by cable count. Larger landing points in Taiwan include Toucheng, which hosts nine cables, and Tanshui, which hosts eight — both considerably larger hubs in comparison to Guningtou. Peers such as Dongyin, Dawu, Fangshan, and Huxi Township each host two or three cables, positioning Guningtou at the lower end of Taiwan's landing point scale in terms of cable volume.

Network Role

Guningtou functions as a single-cable terminus, dedicated exclusively to direct cross-strait connectivity with China via the Cross-Straits Cable Network. Unlike multi-cable hubs such as Toucheng or Tanshui, it does not serve as a convergence point for regional or intercontinental routes. Its role is narrow in scope but geographically specific: the 21 km CSCN provides a short, direct physical link between Taiwan and China at a point where the two territories are in close proximity.

Within Taiwan's submarine cable graph, Guningtou represents the only landing point dedicated to a cable whose entire route spans the strait between Taiwan and China, distinguishing it from other domestic landing points that connect outward to intercontinental or broader Asia-Pacific routes.