Eastern Guangdong

Eastern Guangdong, made up of Shantou, Chaozhou, Jieyang and Shanwei, is known for Chaoshan cuisine, the Chaozhou old city, gongfu tea and seaside scenery.

The Eastern Guangdong region follows Guangdong's official division and covers the entire jurisdictions of four prefecture-level cities: Shantou, Chaozhou, Jieyang and Shanwei. Meizhou and Heyuan, although culturally Hakka and often called northeastern Guangdong, officially belong to the northern Guangdong mountain region and are not in this region. The Chaoshan area is the core: the Chaozhou old city is well preserved, and Guangji Bridge, Paifang Street, Kaiyuan Temple and the Han Wengong Shrine reveal the character of a thousand-year-old prefectural city, with gongfu tea, Chaozhou embroidery and wood carving as representative intangible cultural heritage. Shantou's Xiaogongyuan port district retains many arcade buildings, and Nan'ao Island, Guangdong's only island county, is popular for its island-circling road and sea views; Jieyang has an old city and a Confucian academy, and Chaoshan Airport is nearby. Chaoshan food is the reason many travelers come specially, with beef hotpot, kueh, braised goose, casserole congee and countless snacks, and around the Spring Festival the Ying Laoye and other deity-procession folk customs are lively in the extreme. Shanwei lies between Chaoshan and the Pearl River Delta; Lufeng has the Yuanshan Temple at Xuanwu Mountain and the ancient town of Jieshi, Haifeng is a red-tourism site, Honghai Bay has beaches and island scenery, and the Fengshan Mazu is also a landmark. A classic route is three to four days in Chaoshan: a day and a half in Shantou, a day and a half in Chaozhou and a day on Nan'ao Island, then one to two days west to Shanwei if desired. For transport, Jieyang Chaoshan Airport is the main airport, the Xiamen–Shenzhen high-speed railway runs through the whole region, and with the opening of the Guangzhou–Shantou high-speed railway, getting from Shanwei to Guangzhou is even more convenient; in the cities you can take taxis or buses to sights, and self-driving is recommended for islands. Autumn and winter are the most comfortable, in summer watch for typhoons, and around the Spring Festival, arrange accommodation and popular restaurants in advance.

Destinations

Itineraries