Shantou
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| Administration Type | Prefecture-level city |
| Abbreviation: | 汕 Shàn and 鮀 Tuó |
| City Seat | Jinping District (金平區) |
| Area | 234 km² |
| Population | 1.2 million city residents 4.7 million (2006) in Metropolitan Area |
| GDP - Total - Per Capita | ¥65.08 billion (2005) ¥13,298 (2005) |
| Major Nationalities | Han Chinese |
| City flower | Kingcup |
| City tree | Ceiba |
| County-level divisions | 6 |
| Township-level divisions | 69 |
| CPC Committee Secretary | Lin Musheng (林木声) |
| Mayor | Huang Zhiguang (黄志光) |
| Area Code | 754 |
| Postal Code | 515000 |
| License Plate Prefix | 粤D |
Shantou (also seen as Swátōw or Suátao) is a city of 1.2 million in coastal eastern Guangdong Province, China, metropolitan area 4,721,117 (calculation 2006).
Shantou, a city significant in 19th-century Chinese history as one of the treaty ports established for Western trade and contact, was one of the original Special Economic Zones of the People's Republic of China established in the 1980s, but failed to blossom like other cities such as Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhuhai. However, it remains as East Guangdong's economic centre, and is home to one of Guangdong's top rated universities, Shantou University.
- Geographic coordinates: 116º14' - 117º19' E, 23º02' - 23º38' N
- Area: 234 km²
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History
Shantou was a fishing village part of Tuojiang City (鮀江都), Jieyang District (揭陽縣) during the Song Dynasty. It came to be Xialing (廈嶺) during the Yuan Dynasty. In 1563, Shantou was a part of Chenghai District (澄海縣) in Chao Prefecture (Chaozhou). As early as 1574, Shantou had been called Shashan Ping (沙汕坪). In the seventeenth century, a cannon platform called Shashan Toupaotai (沙汕頭炮臺 sha shan tou pao tai) was made here, and the placename later was shortened to "Shantou".
It became a city in 1919, and was separated from Chenghai in 1921. In the 1930s, the cargo throughput of Shantou Port was ranked third in the nation and business prosperity seventh. It was a transport hub and merchandise distribution centre for Southeast China.
As a high-level city, Shantou administered Chaozhou City from 1983 to 1989.
Administration
Shantou is a prefecture-level city. It has direct jurisdiction over six districts and one county.
- Districts
- Chenghai District (澄海區)
- Longhu District (龍湖區)
- Jinping District (金平區)
- Haojiang District (濠江區)
- Chaoyang District (潮陽區)
- Chaonan Distric (潮南區)
- Nan'ao County (南澳縣): island-county
As of 2003, the district of Haojiang was established out of Hepu and Dahao which had been merged together, and the district of Jinping Shengping and Jinyuan; Waisha and Xinxi Town, part of former Chenghai City, was merged into Longhu District; Chenghai City became Chenghai District; Chaoyang City was divided and became Chaoyao and Chaonan District respectively.
Demographics
Shantou is one of the most densely-populated regions in China. Former Chaoyang City was China's most populous county-level division, with 2.4 million people.
Most residents are ethnically Teochew. There are also Hakka majorly living in Chaoyang District (潮陽區) and Chaonan District (潮南區). Though they actually speak and feel Teochew. Thanks to compulsory Mandarin study in school, most people, especially the younger generations, can fluently speak the national dialect.
Government statistics show that 2.16 million overseas Chinese have roots in Shantou, with significant populations of Teochew people residing in Southeast Asia. This is demonstrated by the unusually high number of international direct flights between Bangkok and Shantou.
Culture & Lifestyle
Shantou people, like other Teochew, cannot live without tea. According to China Daily[1] Shantou people "drink more tea than anyone else in China, in total 700 million yuan (US$87.5 million) each year".
Teochew opera
Transportation
The Shantou Waisha Airport, 13 kilometres away from city centre, was founded in 1956. It was estimated that at the peak period, near 2 million people, were transported through the airport. The major transportation from city centre to the airport is taxi. The taxi fee is around 20-30 RMB.
The new Chaoshan International Airport, located in Jiedong Country which borders Shantou to the southeast, is under construction. It is expected to replace Waisha in 2008 and become Southeast China's biggest airport.
Tourism
- Palace-Temple of Old Mother (老媽宮 Laoma Gong): dedicated to the goddess Matsu
- Temple of Emperor Guan (關帝廟 Guandi Miao): dedicated to Guan Yu
- Nan'ao Island (南澳島 Nanao Dao): rated as Guangdong's most beautiful island by China's National Geographic magazine
Colleges and universities
- Shantou College of South China University of Technology
- Shantou Polytechnic
- Shantou Radio and TV University
- Shantou University
Sister cities
Shantou has city partnerships with the following cities:
Since 1990: Kishiwada, Osaka, Japan
Since 1997: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Since 2005: Can Tho, Vietnam
Miscellaneous
In 2000, the biggest tax fraud in China's history was uncovered, estimated worthy of 32.3 billion yuans.
Guiyu, a small town in Chaoyang District (潮陽區), despite being unknown to most Shantou locals, is the biggest electronic waste site on earth. The health-environmental issues there have concerned international organisations such as Greenpeace.
Shantou will be the host of the FINA Marathon Swimming World Cup n° 16 on 24/09/2006
Famous people
References
- ^ China Daily (2006). For all the tea in China, head to Shantou. Retrieved 26th July, 2006
External links
Prefecture-level divisions of Guangdong
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| List of Guangdong County-level divisions |
| Special Economic Zones of the People's Republic of China |  |
| The Original Four Shenzhen | Zhuhai | Shantou | Xiamen | |
| New Open Development Zones Hainan Province | Dalian | Qingdao | Qinhuangdao | Lianyungang | Pudong | Yantai | Zhanjiang | Ningbo | Wenzhou | Nantong | Fuzhou | Guangzhou | Beihai | |
Categories
Prefecture-level divisions of Guangdong | Cities in Guangdong | Shantou