Chaozhou
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South China (华南) » Guangdong (广东) » Chaozhou (潮州)
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[edit] Overview
Chaozhou is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, 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 has an area of 3,614 square kilometers and a population of 2,500,000.
[edit] History
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 to 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, a part of it was created as Chao'an City in 1953 and later that year renamed to 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.
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[edit] Weather
Current Conditions (2010-09-03 20:00:00, local time)
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Chaozhou |
Temp: 81°F (27°C) |
Chaozhou Weather Forecast
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[edit] Getting in & Getting out
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[edit] Attractions
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.
- Beige Fodeng—The Lighthouse of Buddha (北閣佛燈). The lighthouse was used for boats in the Hanjiang river as this part of the river was dangerous. The lighthouse could remind people that they were in Chaozhou area and ought to be careful. It is said a former emperor once passed in his "dragon boat" while he was sleeping and was woken by the light from this Lighthouse. He thought it must have been a bodhisattva sending him the light and therefore named it the "lighthouse of Buddha".
- Guangzi Bridge (廣濟橋), built in the Southern Song Dynasty (1170 A.D.).
- Huang Jilue Temple (己略黃公祠), displaying the wood carving art of Chaozhou in the Qing Dynasty.
- The old site of Song Kiln, that shows the scale of production and the exquisite craftsmanship of ceramic in ancient Chaozhou.
- Jiadixiang (甲第巷), the ancient family houses.
- Kaiyuan Temple (開元寺) is a Buddhist center embodied with the quintessence of the architectural art of various dynasties such as the Tang, the Song, the Yuan and the Qing. This temple is over 200 years old. The temple is also home to the most influential Buddhism Study Institute in Southeast China. Inside, handsome calligraphy and inscribed steles remind visitors that this temple once functioned as the record keeper of the city.
- Night scene of the People's Square.
- The Ming city wall (明城墻), 2.6 kilometers long.
- Xu, Imperial Son-in-law, Mansion (許駙馬府), which retains the basic pattern of the architecture of the Song Dynasty.
- Xi Hu Yuan, a museum in the main city park, has a unique collection unique of stones with natural geological markings representing (or resembling) Chinese characters.
