Chaoshan

Chaoshan or Teoswa (Chinese: 潮汕; pinyin: Cháoshàn; Cantonese Yale: Chìusaan; peng'im: Dio5suan1 [ti̯o˥˥˩˩.sũ̯ã˧˧]) is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China.

It differs linguistically from the rest of Guangdong province, which was historically dominated by Yue, Hakka, Haklau and Leizhou Min speakers.

[4][3] It is historically important as the ancestral homeland of many citizens of other countries of Chinese descent, including Viets, Thais, Cambodians, Singaporeans, Malaysians, and Indonesians.

The Teochew people are mainly spread over Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao; they have emigrated and established communities in Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, France, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia, and other countries and coastal areas.

[9] Li Ka-shing has also invested heavily in the education and healthcare of the region, recognizing its potential for growth; in 2023, he donated RMB 100 million to support the construction of a new inpatient building of the Chaozhou People's Hospital.

It had a permanent population of 13,937,897 at the end of 2010, and covers an area of 10,415 km2 (4,021 sq mi) that stretches from Jieyang on the coast to the southern border of Fujian.

Chen Jingwei, a member of the CPPCC National Committee and vice-chairman of the Federation of Chinese Industry and Commerce, submitted the proposal again in March 2014.

[citation needed] Music, opera and Chaozhou cuisine are further characteristics that distinguish Chaoshan people from the rest of Guangdong.

The oldest surviving dictionary of Chaozhou sounds is "Twenty-Five Tones of Chaoyu" written by Zhang Shizhen, a merchant in Chenghai, late Qing 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.

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.

Relative economic and linguistic isolation (most people also speak Mandarin) has helped maintain the Chaoshan area's local traditions, which has turned into a boon for foodies.

[23] Chaoshan cuisine, similar to Cantonese cooking, is characterized by the use of ingredients such as fresh seafood, poultry, galangal, Chinese basil, and vegetables.

[24] Teochew (also Chaoshan or Chiu Chow or Chaozhou) cooking focuses on restraint and subtlety and avoids heavy seasonings to highlight the freshness of ingredients.

Local dishes also use marinated raw seafood, such as colorful flower crabs steeped in a bath of vinegar, salt, chilis and cilantro.

Chaoshan has a rich history of farming and drying seaweed, which Westerners might instinctively associate with Korean and Japanese cooking.