Chaozhou

Chaozhou (Chinese: 潮州), alternatively Chiuchow,[3] Chaochow[4] or Teochew,[5] is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of China.

In 331[citation needed] during the Eastern Jin dynasty, Haiyang (海陽縣) was established as a part of Dongguan Commandery (東官郡).

[8] Chaozhou is located in the easternmost part of the Guangdong Province, north of the coastal Shantou City.

On the banks of the Han River, there is fertile land used for rice, sweet potato, peanut, soybean, carrot, orange, peach, and banana cultivation.

The three peaks of Jinshan (巾山), Mingshan (明山), and Dushan (独山) are collectively known as the Sanshan Guowang (三山國王) or Lords of the Three Mountains, and are venerated in temples, particularly by the Hakka people worldwide.

[11] Chaozhou's municipal executive, legislature and judiciary are situated in Xiangqiao District, together with its CPC and Public Security bureau.

However, in Singapore, Mandarin is gradually supplanting the Teochew topolect as the mother tongue for this group, especially among younger generations.

Throughout China's turbulent history, the Chaozhou region was nonetheless able to flourish and thrive, enabling the nourishing of a unique and distinctive character epitomized in the city's native dialect, ceramics, opera, cuisine, Fenghuang Dancong tea, music, style of lion dance, embroidery and another needlework called drawnwork.

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.

Though it tastes bitter when it first reaches the mouth, Kung Fu tea renowned for its lingering aftertaste.

The most characteristic instruments are the rihin (二弦), tihu, yehu (all two-stringed bowed lutes), and the sanxian, pipa, ruan, guzheng, and yangqin.

The region is most widely known for the origin of 'Bak Kut Teh' (肉骨茶), loosely translated in dialect as 'Meat Bone Tea', which is a popular dish among the overseas Chinese Teochew community in Singapore and Malaysia.

Owing to its coastal geography, Chaozhou is also famed for its seafood soups, and a porridge called "mue" (潮洲糜).

Chaozhou Opera
Chaozhou Daily building
Chaozhou Broadcasting Television Center