Chaozhou (), alternatively Chiuchow, Chaochow or Teochew, is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast. It is administered as a prefecture-level city with a jurisdiction area of and a total population of 2,568,387. It is also the ancestral hometown of 2.7 million overseas Teochow people.
Along with Shantou and Jieyang, Chaozhou is a cultural center of the Chaoshan region.
The Chenqiaobei Hill Site was discovered in the west of Chaozhou City. The unearthed cultural relics show that the ancestors of Chaozhou had already started a life of fishing, farming and hunting about 6,000-5,000 years ago. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the Fubin Culture in Raoping was a representative example, indicating that this place had entered the bronze and agricultural civilization.
In 214 BC, Chaozhou was an undeveloped part of Nanhai Commandery of the Qin dynasty. In 331 during the Eastern Jin dynasty, Haiyang () was established as a part of Dongguan Commandery ().
The Dongguan Commandery was renamed Yi'an Commandery () in 413. The commandery became a prefecture in 590 during the early Sui dynasty, first as Xun Prefecture (), then as Chao Prefecture () in the following year. In 1914, the Republic of China government combined the Chao and Xun prefectures into Chaoxun Prefecture or Chaoxun Circuit ().
For a short while in the Sui and early Tang dynasties, Haiyang District was called Yi'an District (). The name remained Haiyang until 1914, when it was renamed to Chao'an County () to avoid ambiguity with the Haiyang County, Shandong.
The seat of the 1951 Guangdong People's Government was in Chao'an County. Part of the county was converted into Chao'an City in 1953, and was renamed Chaozhou City (county-level) later that year. In 1955, the provincial seat moved to Shantou; the city was abolished five years later, and was reestablished in 1979. In 1983, the situation was reversed, as Chao'an was merged into Chaozhou City. Chaozhou was made a provincially-administered city in January 1989, and a vice-prefecture-level city in January 1990. In December 1991, Chaozhou was further upgraded to its current statue of prefecture-level city.
Chaozhou and the nearby cities of Shantou and Jieyang are collectively called Chaoshan or Teochew. From 1958 until 1983, this name was used for the joint political-administrative area which encompassed the three cities. For the next five years, Shantou City was a higher-level city, containing Chaozhou and Jieyang within it. Currently, Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang are equal in status.
In 2022, the city's 5-year plan has detailed the realization of a 43.3-gigawatt offshore windfarm located between 47 and 115 miles (75 and 185 km) off the city's coast.
Chaozhou is located in the easternmost part of the Guangdong Province, north of the coastal Shantou City. It is situated north of the delta of the Han River, which flows throughout the city.
The Chaozhou territory is mountainous. In particular, the nearby Phoenix Mountain's peak is located above sea level. The main nearby rivers are the Huanggang River and the Han River. The Han River flows from west to southeast, and ramps through downtown Chaozhou; the Huanggang river flows roughly from north to south through the territory of Raoping, emptying into the sea. These two rivers provide abundant water for Chaozhou. Hills account for 65% of the total land area within the city, mainly in Raoping and Northern Chaoan. To the north of the city, there is a wide mountainous area suitable for tea cultivation; the lower-altitude areas nearby are mainly suitable for growing bamboo, peach, plum, olive, and pineapple. On the banks of the Han River, there is fertile land used for rice, sweet potato, peanut, soybean, carrot, orange, peach, and banana cultivation.
The three peaks of Jinshan (), Mingshan (), and Dushan () are collectively known as Lords of the Three Mountains (; Teochew:San1 Suan1 Gog4 Uang5; Mandarin: Sanshan Guowang) or Lords of the Three Mountains, and are venerated in temples, particularly by the Hakka people worldwide.
Chaozhou's municipal executive, legislature and judiciary are situated in Xiangqiao District, together with its CPC and Public Security bureau.
The Teochew dialect (), by which the Chaozhou culture is conveyed, is a dialect of Southern Min. It is one of the most conservative Chinese dialects because it preserves many Old Chinese pronunciations and vocabulary that have been lost in some of the other modern varieties of Chinese.
The dialect is spoken by about 10 million people in Chaozhou and approximately 2âÂÂ5 million people overseas. Teochew people are the largest ethnic Chinese group in Thailand and Cambodia, and the second largest ethnic Chinese group in Singapore, after the Hokkien. However, in Singapore, Mandarin is gradually supplanting the Teochew topolect as the mother tongue for this group, especially among younger generations.
Chaozhou is famously known as a globally renowned cultural center of the Lingnan region of China. Throughout China's turbulent history, the Chaozhou region was nonetheless able to flourish and thrive, enabling the nourishing of a unique and distinctive character epitomized in the city's native dialect, ceramics, opera, cuisine, Fenghuang Dancong tea, music, style of lion dance, embroidery and another needlework called drawnwork.
Chaozhou opera () is a traditional art form which has a history of more than 500 years and is now appreciated by 20 million Chaozhou natives in over 20 countries and regions. Based on the local folk dances and ballads, Chaozhou opera has formed its own style under the influence of Nanxi Opera. Nanxi is one of the oldest Chinese operas and originated in the Song dynasty. Clowns and females are the most distinctive characters in a Chaozhou opera, and fan-playing and acrobatic skills are more prominent than in other types of performances.
Gongfu tea, the 'espresso' of Chinese teas with a formidable kick, which was first created in the Song dynasty, is still flourishing and remains an important part of social etiquette in Chaozhou. In Chaozhou culture, offering gongfu tea is a customary way to receive guests. Anyone visiting a local family will typically be invited to share at least one round of this refined tea ritual. Though it tastes bitter when it first reaches the mouth, Kung Fu tea renowned for its lingering aftertaste.
At the local teahouse, tea service is often accompanied by Chaozhou music. String music, gong and drum music and the Teochew flute music (æ½®å·Âç¬Âå¥Âé³æ¨Â) are the traditional forms of Chaozhou music. Chaozhou string music is made up of mostly plucked and bowed string instruments, and on some occasions, wind instruments are used. The most characteristic instruments are the dihin (, the lead string instrument in Teochew music and Teochew opera), tihu, yehu (all two-stringed bowed lutes), and the sanxian, pipa, ruan, guzheng, and yangqin. The number of instruments and performers in an ensemble is flexible and depends on the availability of instruments and musicians to play them â but to have an even and balanced texture, only one of each instrument is preferred. Chaozhou drum music ensembles includes the big drum and gong, the small drum and gong, the dizi set, drum and gong and su, drum and gong combinations. The current Chaozhou drum music is said to be similar to the form of drum and wind music during the Han and Tang dynasties. The Chaozhou guzheng and erhu are also regarded as major members of the southern instrument family.
The region is most widely known for the origin of 'Bak Kut Teh' (), loosely translated in dialect as 'Meat Bone Tea', which is a popular dish among the overseas Chinese Teochew community in Singapore and Malaysia. Owing to its coastal geography, Chaozhou is also famed for its seafood soups, and a porridge called "mue" ().
Chaozhou is a famous historical and cultural center of the Chaoshan region. The city, known as the "Classic Tourist City", constantly welcomes thousands of tourists a day. There are over 600 valuable historic relics kept in Chaozhou city. Among them, 42 are classified under the state, provincial and city's key preservation units of cultural relics. The Chaozhou Dialect, Teochew Opera, Chaozhou Ganghu tea, etc. are unique features of Chaozhou culture. Several historically significant attractions are below.
According to the Seventh National Census in 2020, the city's Permanent Population (hukou) was 2,568,387. Compared with the 2,669,844 people in the Sixth National Census in 2010, the total number of people decreased by 101,457 or 3.80% over the decade.