Chaozhou 潮州

Chaozhou is famously known as one of the great cultural centres in the Lingnan region of China. Chaozhou culture is known worldwide as a unique part of world heritage. Down through history, the Chaozhou region, was able to flourish and thrive as a prosperous cultural centre enabling the nourishing of a unique and distinctive character epitomized in the Chaozhou Dialect, Chaozhou opera, Chaozhou cuisine, Chaozhou Ganghu tea, Chaozhou music, Chaozhou lion dance and Chaozhou embroidery.

Chaozhou Dialect, by which the Chaozhou culture conveys, is considered as one of the oldest Chinese dialects for it preserves many elegant and refined features from ancient Chinese that have been lost in some of the other modern dialects of Chinese. It is spoken by about 10 million people in local Chaozhou and approximately 2-5 million overseas.

Chaozhou is a famous historical and cultural city in the country. The city's feature is known as "Classic Tourist City" which receives numerous tourists both from abroad and home. There are many valuable historic relics in Chaozhou city, totally about 600 units and among them 42 are classified as the state, provincial and city's key preservation units of cultural relics. The Chaozhou Dialect, Chaozhou opera, Chaozhou Ganghu tea, etc. have unique features of Chaozhou culture, attracting numerous tourists from home and abroad, and are the richly endowed tourist resources.

Beige Fodeng—The Lighthouse of Buddha (北閣佛燈). The lighthouse was used for boats in the Hanjiang river as this part of the river was dangerous. The lighthouse could remind people that they were in Chaozhou area and ought to be careful. It is said a former emperor once passed in his "dragon boat" while he was sleeping and was woken by the light from this Lighthouse. He thought it must have been a bodhisattva sending him the light and therefore named it the "lighthouse of Buddha".

Guangzi Bridge (廣濟橋), built in the Southern Song Dynasty (1170 A.D.).

Huang Jilue Temple (己略黃公祠), displaying the wood carving art of Chaozhou in the Qing Dynasty.

The old site of Song Kiln, that shows the scale of production and the exquisite craftsmanship of ceramic in ancient Chaozhou.

Jiadixiang (甲第巷), the ancient family houses.

Kaiyuan Temple (開元寺) is a Buddhist center embodied with the quintessence of the architectural art of various dynasties such as the Tang, the Song, the Yuan and the Qing. This temple is over 200 years old. The temple is also home to the most influential Buddhism Study Institute in Southeast China. Inside, handsome calligraphy and inscribed steles remind visitors that this temple once functioned as the record keeper of the city.

Night scene of the People's Square.

The Ming city wall (明城墻), 2.6 kilometers long.

Xu, Imperial Son-in-law, Mansion (許駙馬府), which retains the basic pattern of the architecture of the Song Dynasty.

Xi Hu Yuan, a museum in the main city park, has a unique collection unique of stones with natural geological markings representing (or resembling) Chinese characters.

Some famous Chaozhou dishes include, among others:
*Braised goose (滷鵝)(Lou Gho)

*Steamed goose (炊鵝)(Chue Gho)

*Teo Chew style duck (潮州鹵水鴨)(Teo Chew Lou Zhui Ak)

*Teo Chew style steamed fish (潮州蒸鱼)(Teo Chew Chue He) - Normally makes use of pomfret and has a distinctive clear broth, seasoned and steamed with shredded ginger, preserved plums, preserved salted vegetables, sliced Shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes and sometimes tofu.

*Popiah (潤餅) (Bo-BEE-a) - A fresh non-fried spring roll. It is essentially a soft, thin paper-like crepe made from wheat flour and is typically filled with finely grated and steamed or stir-fried turnip, jicama and carrots along with fresh lettuce leaves, shredded omelette, Chinese sausage, thinly sliced fried tofu, crushed peanut or peanut powder and sweet bean sauce. However, there are many variations of popiah, with some including pork (lightly seasoned and stir-fried), shrimp or crab meat. Other condiments may include fried shallots, hoisin sauce and sweetened soy sauce. The name "popiah" means "thin wafer" in the Teochew dialect.

*White radish cake (菜头粿) (Chai Tao Kueh) - A savoury fried 'cake', made of white radish and rice flour. It is a popular dim sum commonly stir fried with soy sauce, eggs, garlic, spring onion and occasionally dried shrimp.

*Steamed dumpling (粉餜) (Hung Gue) - This is usually filled with dried radish, garlic chives, ground pork, dried shrimp, Shiitake mushrooms and peanuts. The dumpling wrapper is made from a mixture of flour or plant starches mixed together with water. In Cantonese, these are called 'Chew Zhao Fun Guo' (潮州粉果), where the character used is 'fruit' (果) instead of 'dumpling' (餜).

*Steamed chives dumplings (韭菜餜) (Gu Chai Gue) - They are sometimes sauteed to give it a crispy texture.

*Prawn roll (虾卷) (Heh Geng) - Noted for being wrapped in a crisp tofu skin, it is sometimes referred to as Teo Chew style spring roll in restaurant menus.

*Oyster omelette (蠔烙) (O Luak) - This dish is actually a kind of omelette which is cooked with fresh raw oysters.

*Yee sang (鱼生) (He Snge) - A lavish raw fish salad where typical ingredients include: fresh salmon, white radish, carrot, red pepper (capsicum), ginger, kaffir lime leaves, Chinese parsley, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers or fried dried shrimp and five spice powder, with the dressing primarily made from plum sauce. It is customarily served as an appetizer to raise 'good luck' for the new year and is usually eaten on Renri, the seventh day of Chinese New Year. This delicacy is known to exist as far back as the Southern Song Dynasty, the original version consisting of a simple salad of raw and julienned vegetables, dressed in condiments. The modern version which is widely known today, was developed by a master chef in Lai Wah Restaurant in Singapore during the 1960's.

*Thin noodles (面薄) (Mee pok) - A popular noodle dish served with minced pork, braised mushrooms, fish balls, dumplings, sauce and other garnishings.

*Flat rice noodles (粿汁) (Kueh Chap) - A dish of flat, broad rice sheets in a soup made from dark soy sauce served with pig offal, braised duck meat, various kinds of beancurd, preserved salted vegetables and braised hard-boiled eggs.

*Bak kut teh (肉骨茶) - A hearty soup that, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs in a complex broth of herbs and spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dang gui, fennel seeds and garlic), boiled together with pork bones for hours. Dark and light soy sauce may also be added to the soup during the cooking stages. Some Teochew families like to add extra Chinese herbs such as yu zhu (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and ju zhi (buckthorn fruit) for a sweeter, slightly stronger flavored soup. These herbs are known to be health-giving. The dish is usually eaten with rice or noodles (sometimes as a noodle soup), and often served with youtiao (Chinese fried dough sticks). Garnshings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots. A variation of "bak kut teh" uses chicken instead of pork, which then becomes "chik kut teh". "Bak kut teh" is particularly popular in Klang where it was brought over with the Chinese diaspora.

*Chao Zhou chicken (潮州鸡) (Teo Chew Koi) - A dish of sliced, crisp-skinned marinated chicken served with fried spinach leaves. The leaves are fused with a five-spice and Shaoxing wine fragrance.

*Fish balls (鱼蛋) (He Ee) - These fish balls can be cooked in many ways but are often served in Teo Chew style noodle soups.

*Fishball noodle soup (鱼丸面) (He Ee Mee) - Any of several kinds of egg and rice noodles may be served either in a light fish-flavoured broth or "dry" with the soup on the side with fish balls, fishcakes, beansprouts and lettuce.

*Cold crab (潮州凍蟹) (Teo Chew Ngang Hoi) - The whole crab is first steamed then served chilled. The species of crab most commonly used is Charybdis cruciata of the genus Charybdis (genus).

*Chao Zhou style Congee (粥) (Teo Chew Mue) - A rice soup that has a more watery consistency than its Cantonese cousin.

*Yam dessert (芋泥) (Ou Ni) - Yams are steamed, mashed and then sweetened to form the dessert which resembles yam dough. It is often served with gingko seeds. This dessert contains fried onion oil to give it a nice fragrance.

*Crystal balls (水晶包) (Zhui Jin Bao) - A steamed dessert with a variety of fillings such as yellow milk (奶黃)(Ni Ng), yam paste (芋泥) (Ou Ni) or bean paste (荳沙) made from mung beans or red beans. They are similar to the Japanese mochi.

*Oolong Tea (乌龙茶) (Ou Leng Teh) - Iron Guan Yin Goddess (鐵觀音) (Ti Guan Yim) is one the many renowned Teo Chew Tea. However, Chao Zhou people prefer their own Oolong tea which is the 'Single Phoenix Flying' tea (鳳凰單丛茶) (Hong Wang Dan Cong Teh).

Chinese meal restaurant
Name, Address, TEL
Xinli Garden No.201 5 # , north Jichun road, Chaozhou 0768-2262508
Peony Garden Hotel Crossing of Chaozhou Road and middle Chaofeng road 0768-2800779 0768-2800780
Friend Gather Hotel 14-15# first floor, Jintian Garden, west Chengxin road 0768-2288018
Songshan Restaurant (former Sunshine) No 381, west Xinqiao road 0768-2289632
New Star The second floor, Jinxin mansion, Chaofeng road, Chaozhou 0768-2296889 Unify(beside Westlake) West city-round road, that is opposite frontispiece of Westlake park
Lianhua Vegetable Dish Restaurant C1# No. 9, Kaiyuan Square, Kaiyuan road 0768-2238033
Kaiyuan Vegetable Dish Restaurant B # No 16-17 Kaiyuan Square 0768-2252665
Spring Scenery Hotel Xihe crossing 0768-2261211
Fengxi Feng Er Restaurant Opposite porcelain town, Xinfeng Road 0768-6898494


Transport
Train
Shantou railway station is located in the eastern part of the city which covers an area of 633,333 square meters. The station enjoys convenient transportation. No.2, No.4, No.6, No.8, No.11 and No.12 buses could reach the plaza in the front of the railway station. You can take trains from Shantou railway station to more than twenty major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. You can ask for the details by phone 0754-6338814

Bus
There are six Passenger Depots in Shantou City. They are Shantou passenger terminal, Nanxiang Passenger Depot, Xidi Passenger Depot, China Tourism Passenger Depot, Dongxia Passenger Depot and Jinsha East Passenger Depot. Shantou coach terminal is located on No.7 Chaoshan Road. It is mainly responsible for the coaches toperipheral cities and cities of Guangxi, Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces. The consultation telephone is 0754-8222705. There’re express coaches to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The direct coach from Shantou to Guangzhou sets out every one hour from 7:35 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. everyday. The travel lasts for about five and a half hours. Two coaches from Shantou to Shenzhen set out every one-hour from 6:10 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. everyday.


China Tourism Passenger Depot is mainly in charge of the coaches to other cities in Guangdong Province and cities in Fujian Province.
Address: No.41 Shanzhang Road, Shantou.
Consultation telephone: 0754-8629888-31245


Jinsha East Passenger Depot is mainly in charge of the coaches to major cities in Guangdong Province.
Address: Huanbizhuang, East Jinsha Road, Shantou.
Consultation telephone: 0754-8265854


Nanxiang Passenger Depot
Address: No.19 Chaoshan Road, Shantou.
Consultation telephone: 0754-8224943



Dongxia Passenger Depot
Address: No.70 Dongxia Road, Shantou.
Consultation telephone: 0754-8626130


Inner transportation:

Public Bus
The fare of the public bus is usually 2 Yuan/person/ride, and there are some buses are 1 Yuan or 5 Yuan.

Taxi
According to different types of the cars, the taxies in Shantou are divided into two categories. The starting rate of the taxies in first category is 9 Yuan for the first 3 kilometers while the starting rate of taxies of second category is 7 or 8 Yuan. It's usually about 2.5 Yuan per kilometer afterwards.


Links
http://en.chaozhou.gov.cn/lyxd/index.asp