Daya Bay (simplified Chinese: 大亚湾; traditional Chinese: 大亞灣; pinyin: Dàyà Wān; Jyutping: daai6aa3 waan1), formerly known as Bias Bay,[1] is a bay of the South China Sea on the south coast of Guangdong Province in China. It is bordered by Shenzhen's Dapeng Peninsula to the west and Huizhou to the north and east.

Daya Bay in the Pearl River Delta region

History

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The bay was a hideout of pirates[2] in the 1920s, when the Republic of China government was occupied with conducting the Northern Expedition.[3] Part of it was seized by the Japanese military in the Canton Operation.

Environment

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Historically, Daya Bay had whales and turtles.[4][5] The bay was one of the breeding grounds along the southern coast of China for Asian population of gray whales, which are now one of the most endangered whale population in the world. They migrated to the bay to calve in the winter-spring seasons. Other species, such as humpback whales, also historically migrated to Daya Bay. All of these were wiped out by Japanese whalers established whaling stations on various sites on Chinese coasts including at nearby Daya Bay.[6][7] Critically endangered Chinese white dolphins and occasional whales such as humpbacks have been confirmed in the bay in recent years.[8]

Transportation

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The freight-only Huizhou–Dayawan railway connects Daya Bay with the Chinese railway network.[9] In the future, the area will be served by the Shenzhen–Dayawan intercity railway.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Bias Bay, China - Geographical Names, map, geographic coordinates". geographic.org.
  2. ^ "Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954), Friday 25 March 1927, page 1". Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954). 25 March 1927. p. 1. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "Ship Sink Off Waglan". The Hongkong Telegraph. 1929-01-16.
  4. ^ "Dredging in China under strict environment control" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on Apr 6, 2016.
  5. ^ 大辣甲岛海域现死亡鲸鱼 死因未明
  6. ^ Jefferson, Thomas A.; Hung, Samuel K. (2007-01-01). "An updated, annotated checklist of the marine mammals of Hong Kong" (PDF). Mammalia. 71 (3): 105–114. doi:10.1515/MAMM.2007.021.
  7. ^ Rockwell D.H., 2009, When in Rome, Do as the Whales Do! Archived 2014-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "大亚湾发现中华白海豚 专家:应保持百米安全距离". shenzhen.sina.com.cn.
  9. ^ "惠大铁路进港线明年五一前通车" [Huida Railway port extension will open 1 May next year]. huizhou.cn (in Chinese). 25 December 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  10. ^ "深圳机场至大亚湾城际深圳机场至坪山段工程环境影响评价第二次信息公告" (in Chinese). Shenzhen Metro. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
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