Chao'an District 潮安区

Setting and landscape

The land falls from north to south, from mountains through hills to plain, and the Han River crosses the district from northwest to southeast. The main basins are at Fenghuang and Guihu (归湖), while the southern towns sit on the Han River delta plain, which fans out south from Zhugan Mountain (竹竿山). The climate is subtropical and maritime, with a yearly mean of 21.4°C. In the south, Sangpu Mountain (桑浦山) is known for its caves, religious sites and hot springs, and the Meilin Lake (梅林湖) sea-eroded rocks record the time when the delta was still sea.

History

The Eastern Jin set up Haiyang County (海阳县) here in 331, and for centuries Haiyang was the seat of Chaozhou prefecture. In 1914 it was renamed Chao'an because a Haiyang County already existed in Shandong. The county became a district of Chaozhou city in June 2013. The district lists 94 protected monuments and 98 intangible heritage items, five of them national.

What to see

Longhu Ancient Village (龙湖古寨), on the west bank of the Han River in Longhu town, 16 kilometres south of Chaozhou city, is a 3A scenic area and a listed Chinese traditional village. Founded in the Song and walled in the Ming, it is laid out on a nine-palace, eight-trigram plan of three streets and six lanes, with more than a hundred ancestral halls and family temples decorated with Chaozhou wood carving, stone carving and inlaid porcelain.

Fenghuang Mountain Tianchi (凤凰山天池) in Fenghuang town is a 3A scenic area whose mountain lake lies at 1,325 metres below a 1,391-metre summit, with tea gardens along the way up; it is one of the rare places in eastern Guangdong where snow can be seen in winter. The northern mountains are also described by the district as the ancestral land of the She people (畲族). Other named sights include the Congxi Ancestral Hall (从熙公祠) and the Sanyuan Pagoda (三元塔).

Food and local products

Fenghuang Dancong tea (凤凰单枞茶) is a national geographical-indication product, and the Fenghuang Mountains in the north hold high-mountain tea gardens. Jiangdong town (江东镇) keeps up the making of caipu (菜脯), preserved white radish: in the cold, dry weeks of deep winter the radishes are layered with sea salt in bamboo containers for three or four days, then sun-dried and turned for close to twenty days.

Highlights

• Longhu Ancient Village 龙湖古寨: Song-founded, Ming-walled village on the Han River with more than a hundred ancestral halls and family temples.
• Fenghuang Mountain Tianchi 凤凰山天池: Mountain lake at 1,325 metres reached past tea gardens, one of the few places in eastern Guangdong to see winter snow.
• Fenghuang Dancong tea 凤凰单枞茶: National geographical-indication product.
• Jiangdong caipu 菜脯: Preserved radish salted and sun-dried for close to twenty days in winter.