Not many years ago, if one dropped by the winding streets of Chaozhou, a medium-sized city in the east of South China's Guangdong Province, they would probably notice an unique scene.

In the early morning, many local residents got up early and waited in long queues outside restaurants.

They all anticipated the arrival of the first pot of beef meatball, a famous local cuisine.

The local chefs only choose the finest beef and beat it into beef paste with an iron stick. The result is an especially tenacious and tasty meatball, which some people say could bounce on the ground higher than a ping pong ball.

It is a firm local belief that the first batch of beef meatball in the morning always commands the best taste, and the clear soup without any traces of oil is certainly beyond any description.

Although the mouthwatering image of the dish might jump into some gourmets' mind immediately when Chaozhou is mentioned, the city that has 1,600 years of history actually holds much more fascination than just this culinary oddity.

The city has been an incubator of many successful overseas Chinese entrepreneurs including the Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing.

It has a rich local folk culture, featuring not only local opera and music but also the famous Chaozhou Gongfu Tea.

Proud of what Chaozhou has to offer, Luo Wenzhi, mayor of Chaozhou, earlier this week urged people from outside Chaozhou to spend a couple of days here to experience the unique local culture, at a tourism and culture festival held during the National Day holiday.

He said tourists could start sampling Chaozhou culinary culture with the breakfast - or the delicious dim sum of Chaozhou. The suggested menu includes of course beef meatballs and also fish meatballs, pork meatballs, Chaozhou rice noodles and Chaozhou congee.

History tour

With enough calories and fond memories, tourists can then embark on a journey of the local historical sites.

The city has named more than 700 relic spots, among which the Guangji Bridge (also named Xiangzi Bridge), the Imperial Son-in-law Xu's Mansion, Kaiyuan Temple, Huang Konglue Temple, Song Kiln Relics, the Han Yu Memorial, and the Hakka earthen building complexes.

The Guangji Bridge, built 800-odd years ago, consists of one leg of stone plate bridge, one leg of arch bridge and one leg of floating bridge connected with 18 boats. The leg of a floating bridge of 18 boats can be disconnected for the passage of big boats, making it one of the world's earliest bridges capable of opening and closing for the big boats passing by.

The 24 pavilions of different styles add glamour to this ancient bridge.

At the Imperial Son-in-law Xu's Mansion, tourists can have a close look at the typical architectural pattern of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

The quintessence of the architectural art, woodcut art of the dynasties of Tang (AD 618-907), Song, Yuan (1279-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) can be seen at the Kaiyuan Temple.

With a history of more than 1,200 years, the Kaiyuan Temple is a Buddhist centre in the east of Guangdong.

The carving art masterpieces of Chaozhou in the Qing Dynasty are equally well showcased at the Huang Konglue Temple.

Upon first glimpse, the wood carvings in Chaozhou are much brighter and bolder in colouring than their counterparts in northern China. Looking closer, one will observe even more complicated structures, with motifs of auspicious animals, flowers and figures decorated everywhere possible.

The Song Kiln Relics, over 2 kilometres long, records the production and the exquisite craftsmanship of ceramics in ancient Chaozhou.

The Han Yu Memorial was set up in honour of the great man of letters (AD 768-824), who was deported to Chaozhou in 819 during the Tang Dynasty.

Row upon row of inscribed boards hung from the beams of the first hall eulogizing Han's great deeds.

Though governing Chaozhou for only eight months, Han did a lot to improve the life of the Chaozhou natives.

The mountain where the memorial resides and the river it faces were later named after Han Yu as a way of showing the local people's great gratitude.

The 500-year-old Daoyun Building, about 40 kilometres away for downtown Chaozhou in its subordinate county of Raoping, represents a masterpiece of the 700 Hakka earthen building complexes in the city.

The Daoyun Building, built in the eight-trigram battle array, is one of China's biggest Hakka earthen buildings.

Natural attractions

With all its historical and cultural heritage, Chaozhou does not lack natural scenic attractions, such as the Fenghuang (Phoenix) Mountain, Paradise of Aigrettes, and the Qinglan Wonder of Glacier Traces.

Fenghuang Mountain, 1,497 metres above sea level, is the highest mountain in east Guangdong. The mountain is said to be the originating place of the She people, an ethnic minority with a population of around 700,000 in China.

Also well remembered about this mountain is the first-rate Fenghuang Tea produced here. The finest tea leaves come from just one tree believed to be planted in the Tang Dynasty.

Even if one could get hold of a handful of very old leaves from the tree, one can be sure of savouring a cup of golden tea whose fragrance lingers on the tongue for days to come.

The Paradise of Aigrettes in Raoping County is home to yellow-mouth aigrettes all year around.

And the Qinglan Wonder of Glacier Traces in Raoping County preserves glaciers traces formed in the long history of 2 or 3 million years for sightseeing as well as for scientific studies.

Short breaks

Over the centuries, local people have developed distinctive local handicraft ranging from Chaozhou ceramics, embroidery, woodcut, gold and silver jewelry.

Being named recently the nation's ceramic base, Chaozhou can trace its pottery and porcelain production back more than 1,000 years. Chaozhou not only produces ceramic products for daily use, but also supplies value-added ceramic products for ornaments.

Of the short breaks during the tour of historical or scenic sites, tourists can take a look at the Fengxi Ceramics Gallery, where they can learn about the city's ceramic tradition and latest achievements.

Better still would be a casual visit to the local's houses, where two sorts of decorations are always indispensable.

Most local people seem to hold a strong favour for a colourful porcelain vase which is decorated with so many fragile ceramic flowers that render natural ones quite redundant.

Then at the low-set tables surrounded by stools is always a set for savouring Gongfu Tea. The strength of the golden tea, if never tasted before, could well be a shock for a visitor. But once the first shock is overcome, the unique sweetness can prove a joy worth another sip.

And Chaozhou's embroidery, one of the four famous Chinese embroidery styles, has helped to turn the city into the nation's night dress base.

Lunch and supper, naturally, features worldwide renowned Chaozhou cuisine, which is primarily based on seafood, both light and tasty.

A meal traditionally starts with cold pre-cooked dishes followed by the main courses.

Two favourite starters are cold boiled crab and spiced goose, both served with a slightly sweet vinegary dipping sauce.

Seafood, duck and goose are often enjoyed with specialty Chaozhou sauces and condiments like preserved limes, olive kernels and fermented bean sauces that give the cuisine a distinctive flavour.

Chaozhou cuisine is also famous for its shellfish dishes and a wide range of sweet dishes made from pumpkins or taros.

Chaozhou chefs are proud of their vegetable carving skills. Carved vegetables in the forms of flowers, birds, dragons and phoenixes are used as garnishes on cold dishes and on the banquet table, pleasing to the eye and appealing to the palate.

Some famous Chaozhou dishes include shark's fin soup, bird's nest soup, steamed goose, cold crab, steamed dumpling, shrimp balls and oyster pancake.

Cups of Chaozhou Gongfu Tea will quickly refresh one after a meal.

Musical munching

At the local teahouse, tea service is often accompanied with Chaozhou music.

String music, the gong and drum music, the ancient music of set flutes are the traditional play 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 erxian, tihu and yehu (all two-stringed bowed lutes), the pipa, the four-stringed plucked instrument as well as other plucked lutes; the zheng and the hammered dulcimer.

The number of instruments and performers in the ensemble is flexible and depends on the availability of instruments and musicians to play them - but to have an even and balanced texture only one of each instrument is preferred.

Chaozhou drum music includes the big drum and gong, the small drum and gong, the dizi set drum and dong and su drum and gong ensembles.

The current Chaozhou drum music is said to be similar to the form of the Drum and Wind Music of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

A day's tour of Chaozhou is not complete without attending a typical Chaozhou opera.

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 that originated in the Song Dynasty.

Its tunes are graceful and pleasant, full of local colour. The old form of choral accompaniment still remains its special features.

Clowns and females are the most distinctive characters in a Chaozhou opera.

Female performers are good at imitating the movements of animals, shadow figures and puppets, creating very pleasing and amusing effects.

And fan-playing and acrobatic skills are rather unique.

Editor: Catherine