Why we love Guangdong | Enjoy kungfu tea in Chaozhou

Chaozhou is located on the eastern coast of Guangdong. With a history of more than 1,600 years, Chaozhou has its special cuisine and rich cultural heritage, which have attracted an endless stream of tourists in recent years. During the Spring Festival holiday this year, it received 2.85 million visitors.

Food is a gateway to Chaozhou. Chaozhou cuisine originates in the Tang Dynasty, and its cooking techniques have been listed in the national intangible cultural heritage. Beef meatballs pounded for 30 minutes each, beef hotpots around every corner, marinated raw cockles and mud crabs, and rice noodles with Shacha sauce and chilli sauce are some of the must-have local delicacies. After a meal, it is pleasant to take a sip of kungfu tea and enjoy its refreshing and sweet taste.

After the treat of food, it’s recommended to stroll around this millennium-old city to experience the history and culture of Chaozhou. Chaozhou has a total of 22 national key protected cultural relic units. Ancient pagodas, mansions, dwellings, and wells are scattered everywhere. Guangji Bridge is the world’s earliest bridge that can open and close, with stone beam bridges in the east and west ends and a pontoon bridge of 18 shuttle boats in the middle. When a large ship is about to pass, the shuttle boats will separate to open a channel and then unite again.

Not far from Guangji Bridge is Pai Fang (memorial archway) Street, which dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty and has 23 memorial archways. The most well-known one honours the top 10 prime ministers who visited Chaozhou during the Tang and Song dynasties, including Han Yu, who was the source of the names for Han Mountain and Han River there, and is highly regarded by the locals.

At the same time, Chaozhou has preserved various handicraft techniques, including 17 national intangible cultural heritage projects. At Pai Fang Street, there are also a lot of workshops where visitors can experience the arts of Chaozhou woodcarving, hand-pulled pottery, Chaozhou embroidery, and porcelain, among others.

Since ancient times, the “Chaozhou merchants” have been able to leave their marks across the nation and the globe thanks to the lengthy coastline. Also, a Chaozhou port-based economic zone is poised to take off. New technologies like big data and 5G communication have boosted traditional industries. At the same time, Chaozhou has also developed emerging industries like new materials, intelligent sanitary ware, biomedicine, chip packaging, and testing, and seized the opportunity of low-carbon industries like photovoltaic power generation and offshore wind power, further optimizing the industrial system.