Chaozhou

About Chaozhou

Few cities in southern China have kept their old shape as well as Chaozhou. Inside a ring of Ming-era walls along the Han River, narrow lanes of grey-brick courtyard houses, carved ancestral halls and memorial archways still make up the heart of town, and the local Teochew dialect, opera and food remain proudly its own.

The city's history runs deep. The Tang scholar Han Yu was exiled here in 819 and is still honoured for bringing schooling to the region, Kaiyuan Temple dates from the same dynasty, and the Guangji Bridge, begun in the twelfth century, is counted among China's four great ancient bridges. Chaozhou was also the homeland of many emigrants who carried Teochew culture to Bangkok, Singapore and beyond.

Come for the walking and the eating: rice noodle rolls, oyster omelettes, braised goose and endless cups of gongfu tea, often made with Fenghuang Dancong leaves grown in the hills to the north. Longhu Ancient Village and the tea mountains make easy half-day trips.