The shining waters of Dapeng Bay (China Post)

One of Taiwan's largest lagoons, Dapeng Bay has been earmarked for development into a major tourist resort since the late 1990s. Covering more than 400 hectares, the bay enjoys a dry, sunny climate.

It's an excellent spot for watersports – the wind is consistent, but the waves are minuscule because the mouth of the bay is so narrow. This April, Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Administration held a windsurfing race from the bay, out to Little Liouchiou Island (Xiao Liuqiu) – a distance one way of 14 kilometers – and back again. It's hoped that the race will become an annual event.

Unlike some other parts of Taiwan's coast, which have been radically and repeatedly reshaped by typhoons, the bay has remained stable since at least the arrival of Han Chinese settlers in the 17th century. The Japanese used the lagoon as a seaplane base during World War II, and many of the tunnels and air-raid shelters they built were used by the ROC's armed forces well into the 1970s...

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