Tanggu, China

With a population of 535,298, Tanggu is hardly the tranquil backwater one might expect. This coastal city in northern China is a hub of Japanese influence, the site of a 1933 ceasefire that ceded control of the strategically vital Great Wall to the Imperial Japanese Army. While the Tanggu Truce provided a temporary respite from conflict, the resulting demilitarized zone has become a persistent headache, with the local "Peace Preservation Corps" policing the area and disputes settled directly between the Chinese and Japanese governments. For those undaunted by the heavy bureaucratic burden, Tanggu may offer a unique window into the tensions of 1930s East Asia - but it is hardly the peaceful retreat many expatriates envision.