Penghu

Penghu, also known as the Pescadores Islands, is an archipelago of about 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, roughly 50 kilometers west of the main island of Taiwan, covering about 141 square kilometers and forming Penghu County, with Magong as its largest city. Geologically the islands are the remnant of a Miocene-age shield volcano, built from two to four layers of basalt interbedded with sandstone and mudstone laid down in shallow marine conditions, and the archipelago is noted for its distinctive columnar basalt formations. First recorded during the Tang dynasty and settled by Chinese migrants from Fujian during the Song dynasty, Penghu was formally incorporated by the Yuan dynasty in 1281, saw brief Dutch and French occupations before being ceded to Japan in 1895, and passed to the administration of the Republic of China after 1945, with tourism now its main economic driver.