Penghu

Pēnghú (澎湖) is an archipelago of 90 islands in the Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China. Known to Portuguese navigators as Pescadores (Fishermen), the islands have served as a strategic waystation and military stronghold since the Yuan Dynasty first established fleeting administration here in 1281, the earliest formal Chinese governance of any part of modern-day Taiwan. Japan seized Penghu in March 1895, weeks before the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and developed the archipelago as a naval stronghold; lighthouses and fortifications from this era still dot the islands. After 1949, the ROC heavily militarized Penghu as a frontline against the PRC, leaving Cold War era installations scattered across the county. Today the county comprises Magong (the county seat), Huxi, Baisha, Xiyu, Wangan, and Qimei.