Nanpeng, China

With a population of just 46,786, Nanpeng is a sleepy fishing village, hardly the glamorous island life some may envision. The nationalist-communist battle over these remote islands underscores a persistent bureaucratic headache - the communists struggled to retake the archipelago, despite their numerical advantage, due to the difficulty of reinforcing this distant outpost. While the communists ultimately prevailed, they paid a heavy price, with over 400 casualties. For all but the most pragmatic, rugged expats, the reality of life in Nanpeng may prove a far cry from the idyllic tropical retreat.