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Kwang-Chou-Wan was a small enclave of France on the south coast of China. Situated in Guangdong Province in a bay on the east side of the Leizhou Peninsula, north of Hainan, Kwang-Chou-Wan was annexed by the French on 27 May 1898 to counter the growing power of Hong Kong and Macau. Kwang-Chou-Wan consisted of a 300 square mile (780 kmē) area surrounding the estuary of the Ma-Tse River, including the town of Lei Chow, which acted as the territory's capital, as well as a number of offshore islands.
Following the annexation, a 99 year lease agreed to by France and China and in January 1900 Kwang-Chou-Wan was placed under the authority of the governor general of Indochina. Industries included shipping and coal mining.
Kwang-Chou-Wan was returned to China in 1949 following the Communist victory in the civil war.
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