Shantou 汕头市

Setting and landscape

Most of the city lies on the Chaoshan Plain (潮汕平原), with a few small hills in the northwest. The Rong River cuts through the urban area, with Mayu Island (妈屿岛) at its mouth. Offshore, Nan'ao Island (南澳岛) rises to 587 metres at Dajianshan (大尖山). The Tropic of Cancer crosses the city, and a marker tower built in 1986 stands in the western suburbs.

History

The name comes from the sandbank the old town grew on: in the Chaoshan dialect a sandy ridge is called shan (汕). Under the Kangxi emperor the Qing built a fort here, and the place became Shashantou (沙汕头), later shortened to Shantou. The Chaozhou customs house opened on Mayu Island on 1 January 1860, and the port overtook Chaozhou as the economic centre of eastern Guangdong; the merchant-run Chaoshan Railway (潮汕铁路) to Chaozhou opened in 1906. The special economic zone, approved in 1980, was extended to the whole city in 2011.

The city government singles out Teochew opera (潮剧), Chaozhou music (潮州音乐), gongfu tea (工夫茶) and the Yingge dance (英歌舞) as local traditions. Chaoyang Yingge (潮阳英歌), on the first national intangible heritage list in 2006, is danced by troupes of 12 to 108 men striking pairs of painted sticks to gongs and drums. Local crafts include drawnwork (抽纱), Chaozhou embroidery (潮绣), gold-lacquer woodcarving (金漆木雕) and paper-cutting.

What to see

The city government's list of main sights includes the Queshi scenic area (礐石风景名胜区), the Nan'ao Island ecological tourism area, Lianhua Peak (莲花峰), Mayu Island, the Qianmei (前美) old village of overseas Chinese and the Xiaogongyuan (小公园) treaty-port district. In Xiaogongyuan, streets of arcaded buildings fan out from the small park at the centre of the 1930s commercial town. The Shantou Museum (汕头市博物馆) and the Shantou Founding Museum (汕头开埠文化陈列馆) are among the official museums. Chen Cihong's former residence (陈慈黉故居) is one of the "Eight Views of Shantou", and the Wenguang Pagoda (文光塔) in Chaoyang and the Qilu Fort (崎碌炮台) are national key heritage sites.

Food and local products

The city government describes Chaoshan cooking as light and refined. Its list of signature dishes includes braised lion-head goose (卤狮头鹅), chicken baked in soybean paste (豆酱焗鸡) and huguocai (护国菜), a vegetarian greens soup; among snacks it names Shantou beef balls (汕头牛肉丸), Dahao fish balls (达濠鱼丸), oyster omelette (蚝烙) and rice-noodle rolls (肠粉).

Highlights

• Xiaogongyuan treaty-port district 小公园开埠区: Arcaded streets fanning out from the small park at the heart of the 1930s commercial town.
• Nan'ao Island 南澳岛: Rises to 587 metres at Dajianshan; the city government lists its ecological tourism area among Shantou's main sights.
• Chen Cihong's former residence 陈慈黉故居: One of the Eight Views of Shantou.
• Chaoyang Yingge 潮阳英歌: Stick dance by troupes of 12 to 108 men, on the first national intangible heritage list (2006).
• Shantou beef balls 汕头牛肉丸: Named by the city government among Shantou's signature snacks.