| Chaozhou 潮州 |
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| — Prefecture-level city — | |
| Chinese transcription(s) | |
| • Pinyin (Mandarin) | Cháozhōu |
| • Wade-Giles (Mandarin) | Ch'ao2-chou1 |
| • Teochew Peng'im (Min) | Diê5 ziu1 |
| • Jyutping (Cantonese) | Ciu4 zau1 |
| Nickname(s): The Phoenix City (凤城/鳳城) | |
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Chaozhou
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Chaozhou
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| County-level divisions | 4 |
| Township divisions | 43 |
| Government | |
| • CPC Chaozhou | Luo Wenzhi (骆文智) Committee Secretary |
| • Mayor | Tang Xikun (汤锡坤) |
| Area(ranked 31st) | |
| • Total | 3,110 km2 (1,200.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0–1,497.5 m (0–4,913 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,669,844 |
| • Density | 858.5/km2 (2,223.4/sq mi) |
| • Major nationalities | Han—99.7% |
| Time zone | China Standard Time (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 521000 (Urban center) 515600, 515700 (Other areas) |
| Area code(s) | +86768 |
| License plate prefixes | 粤U |
| GDP (2008) | CNY 44.3 billion |
| - per capita | CNY 17,317 |
| Website | www.chaozhou.gov.cn |
Chaozhou (Chinese: 潮州; pinyin: Cháozhōu; Wade–Giles: Ch'ao²-chou¹; literally "Tide Prefecture"; alternatively spelled Chiuchow, transliterated from its Cantonese pronunciation; also widely known by its Postal map spelling Teochew,) is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic 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 3,110 square kilometers and a total population of 2,669,844.[1] Chaozhou is part of the Chaoshan region.
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Chaozhou's municipal executive, legislature and judiciary are situated in Xiangqiao District (湘桥区), together with its CPC and Public Security bureau.
| Map | ||||||
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| # | Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2010 Census) | Area (km²) | Density (/km²) |
| 1 | Xiangqiao District | 湘桥区 | Xiāngqiáo Qū | 452,472 | 152,5 | 2,967 |
| 2 | Chao'an County | 潮安县 | Cháo'ān Xiàn | 1,335,398 | 1,261 | 1059 |
| 3 | Raoping County | 饶平县 | Ràopíng Xiàn | 881,974 | 1696,5 | 520 |
Chaozhou is located in the easternmost part of Guangdong Province, north of the coastal Shantou City. It is situated in the north of the delta of the Han River (韩江), which flows throughout the city.
In 214 BC, Chaozhou was an undeveloped and named part of Nanhai Commandery (南海郡) of the Qin Dynasty. In 331 during the Eastern Han Dynasty (東汉), Haiyang (海陽縣) was established as a part of Dongguan Commandery (東官郡).
Dongguan Commandery was renamed Yi'an Commandery (義安郡) in 413. The commandery became a prefecture in 590 in the early Sui Dynasty; first as Xun Prefecture (循州, Xunzhou), then as Chao Prefecture (潮州, Chaozhou) in the following year. In 1914, the Republic of China government combined Chao and Xun prefectures into Chaoxun Prefecture or Chaoxun Circuit (潮循道).
For a short while in the Sui and early Tang Dynasties, Haiyang District was called Yi'an District (義安縣). The name remained Haiyang until 1914, when it was renamed to Chao'an County (潮安縣) to avoid ambiguity with the Haiyang County of Shandong Province.
The seat of the 1951 Guangdong People's Government was at Chao'an County; part of it was converted to Chao'an City in 1953 and later that year renamed Chaozhou City (county-level). In 1955, the provincial seat moved to Shantou. Chaozhou City was abolished five years later, and reestablished again in 1979. In 1983, the situation was reversed, with Chao'an abolished and made a part of 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 into its current statue of prefecture-level city.
Together, Chaozhou and the nearby cities of Shantou (汕头) and Jieyang (揭阳) are called Chaoshan. The name was used for the joint political-administrative area which encompassed the three cities from 1958 until 1983. 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.
Teochew dialect (潮州話), by which the Chaozhou culture is conveyed, is one of the most conservative Chinese dialects because it preserves many contrasts from ancient Chinese that have been lost in some of the other modern dialects of Chinese. (See the Teochow dialect transcription of the poem Shi shi shi shi shi to note how words which have become homophonic in other dialects stay distinct in Teochow.)
It is spoken by about 10 million people in local Chaozhou and approximately 2-5 million overseas. 30% of the Chinese in Vietnam speak this dialect . Teochew people are the second largest ethnic Chinese group in Singapore, after the Hokkien - although Mandarin is gradually supplanting the Teochew topolect as the mother tongue for this group, especially among younger generations.
Chaozhou is famously known as one of the great cultural centres in the Lingnan region of China. Chaozhou culture is known worldwide as a unique part of world heritage . Throughout history, the Chaozhou region, was able to flourish and thrive as a prosperous cultural centre enabling the nourishing of a unique and distinctive character epitomized in the Chaozhou Dialect, Chaozhou opera, Chaozhou cuisine, Chaozhou Ganghu tea, Chaozhou music, Chaozhou lion dance and Chaozhou embroidery.
Chaozhou opera (潮劇) 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 (工夫茶), the 'espresso' of Chinese teas with a formidable kick, which was first sipped back in the Song Dynasty, is still flourishing and remains an important part of social etiquette in Chaozhou. Visitors to local families can be sure of at least one round of Ganghu tea. Though it tastes bitter when it first reaches the mouth, it is the lingering aftertaste that marks Ganghu tea. Drinking Ganghu tea is a process of aesthetics rather than a solution to thirst.
At the local teahouse, tea service is often accompanied by Chaozhou music (潮州音樂). String music, gong and drum music and the ancient music of set flutes 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 rihin (二弦), tihu (提胡) and yahu (all two-stringed bowed lutes), the sanxian, pipa, ruan, guzheng, and yangqin. 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. The Chaozhou guzheng (潮州古筝) is also regarded as a major member of the southern guzheng family.
In 2006, GDP of the whole city totaled 33.0 billion yuan, up by 13% over the previous year. Agricultural output value reached 5.732 billion yuan, dropped by 3.1%. Industrial output value amounted to 64.9 billion yuan, representing an increase of 16.4%. Seven pillar industries of ceramics, garment, food, plastics, electronics, stainless steel products and printing achieved above-scale industrial output value of 22.92 billion yuan, up by 30.3%, accounting for 62.7% of the total above-scale industrial output value. The proportion of the three industries to the aggregate of GDP was 9.5:56.2:34.3 in 2006. Local financial revenue in the general budget increased to 1065 million yuan, up 23.2%. The gross value of import and export added to US$2.3 billion, representing an increase of 21.3%. Overall consumer product retail sales came to 11.814 billion yuan, representing an increase of 14.7%. Consumption on transport and telecommunication, garment, health care and housing showed massive growth. Expenditure reached 3.56 billion yuan for urban resident and 8.25 billion yuan for rural resident, showing rises of 11.1% and 16.4% respectively. Throughout the year, Chaozhou received visitors of 1,899,000 person/time, up by 15.6%, yielding a revenue of 2.748 billion yuan in tourism, up by 15.4%. Investment in fixed assets came to 10.974 billion yuan, up by 12.4%.
Chaozhou is a famous historical and cultural city in the country. The city's feature is known as "Classic Tourist City" which receives numerous tourists both from abroad and home. There are many valuable historic relics in Chaozhou city, totally about 600 units and among them 42 are classified as the state, provincial and city's key preservation units of cultural relics. The Chaozhou Dialect, Chaozhou opera, Chaozhou Ganghu tea, etc. have unique features of Chaozhou culture, attracting numerous tourists from home and abroad, and are the richly endowed tourist resources.
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