Chaozhou City, China (Part 1)

The city of Chaozhou, 40km from the port city of Shantou in the north east Guangdong province, is a classic tourist city as stated in the brochures and many other references. I had a brief glimpse during my last visit but this trip is rather different as I managed to explore a bit more.”A classic tourist city” not in the sense that it provides a lot of amenities but rather in the historical sense as this city seems to be full of it. Chaozhou is the Mandarin name for Teochew. 2 things springs to mind by the mere mention of Teochew namely the mandarin oranges and porridge. This city is developing (which China’s city isn’t?) judging by the number of new buildings coming up. There’s no shortage of hotels here ranging from 4 stars to budget. Getting around the city is a breeze as it is full of trishaw of the manual and motorized type. RMB3 to 5 is enough to get you to your destination. Don’t expect though to get anywhere if you don’t know at least the Mandarin language. Best if you know the Teochew dialect. Besides the famed Teochew porridge, the city serves the usual Chinese cuisines though special mention must be given to the abundance of Sichuan cuisines here. Other than that, there’s a grand total of 2 KFC and 1 McDonald’s here. Which is a blessing!


Aboard a trishaw on a narrow street of Chaozhou


Chaozhou Square (more of this in the next part)


Hanjiang Wall, dating back from the Ming Dynasty


Tiny entrance across the wall


The wall stretches to about 5km now and used to protect the city of Chaozhou from invaders


View from the top part of the wall


Hanjiang River, much of it dry now due to the declining rainfall


The ancient Hanjiang bridge, now under restoration


Drawing of Chaozhou during the Ming Dynasty


The new Hanjiang bridge, another ultra modern one is going to be constructed soon.

to be continued...