Shantou, alternatelyromanized as Swatow[3][4] and sometimes known as Santow,[5] is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative area of 2,248.39 square kilometres (868.11 sq mi). However, its built-up (or metro) area is much bigger with 12,543,024 inhabitants including Rongcheng and Jiedong districts, Jiexi county and Puning city in Jieyang plus all of Chaozhou city largely conurbated. This is de facto the 5th built-up area in mainland China between Hangzhou-Shaoxing (13,035,026 inhabitants), Xi'an-Xianyang (12,283,922 inhabitants) and Tianjin (11,165,706 inhabitants).
Shantou, a city significant in 19th-century Chinese history as one of the treaty ports established for Western trade and contact, was one of the original special economic zones of China established in the 1980s, but did not blossom in the manner that cities such as Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhuhai did. However, it remains eastern Guangdong's economic centre, and is home to Shantou University, which is under the provincial Project 211 program in Guangdong.
History
Shantou was a fishing village part of Tuojiang Du (鮀江都), Jieyang County during the Song dynasty. It came to be known as Xialing (廈嶺) during the Yuan dynasty. In 1563, Shantou became a part of Chenghai County in Chao Prefecture (Chaozhou). As early as 1574, Shantou had been called Shashanping (沙汕坪). In the seventeenth century, a cannon platform called Shashantou Cannon (沙汕頭炮臺) was made here, and the place name later was shortened to "Shantou". Locally it has been referred to as Kialat.
Connecting to Shantou across the Queshi Bridge is Queshi (礐石) which had been known by the local people through the 19th century as Kakchio. It was the main site for the American and British consulates. Today the area is a scenic park but some of the structures from its earlier history are somewhat preserved. In 1860, Shantou was opened for foreigners and became a trading port according to Treaty of Tientsin.[6]
It became a city in 1919, and was separated from Chenghai in 1921. 1922 saw the devastating Swatow Typhoon, which killed 5,000 out of the 65,000 people then inhabiting the city.[7] Some nearby villages were totally destroyed.[8] Several ships near the coast were totally wrecked.[9] Other ones were blown as far as two miles inland.[8] The area around the city had around another 50,000 casualties.[9] The total death toll was above 60,000,[10] and may have been higher than 100,000.[9]
In the 1930s, as a transport hub and a merchandise distribution centre in Southeast China, Shantou Port's cargo throughput ranked third in the country. A brief account of a visit to the city in English during this period is the English accountant Max Relton's A Man in the East: A Journey through French Indo-China (Michael Joseph Ltd., London, 1939). On 21 June 1939, Japanese troops invaded Shantou.[11] Japanese forces occupied Shantou until 15 August 1945.[12] The Communist People's Liberation Army captured Shantou on 24 October 1949, 23 days after the People's Republic of China was founded.[13]
Shantou is located in eastern Guangdong with latitude spanning 23°02′33″ – 23°38′50″ N and longitude 116°14′40″ – 117°19′35″ E; the Tropic of Cancer passes through the northern part of the city, and along it there is a monument, in fact the easternmost in mainland China, at 23°26′33″N116°35′20″E / 23.44240°N 116.58885°E / 23.44240; 116.58885.[15] The highest peak in the city's administration is Mount Dajian (大尖山) on Nan'ao Island, at 587 m (1,926 ft); the highest peak on the geographic mainland is Mount Lianhua (莲花山), at 562 m (1,844 ft) in Chenghai District. The city is located at the mouths of the Han, Rong (榕江), and Lian Rivers.
Shantou is 301 km (187 mi) northeast of Hong Kong.[16]
Climate
Shantou has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (KöppenCwa), with short, mild to warm winters, and long, hot, humid summers. Winter begins sunny and dry but becomes progressively wetter and cloudier. Spring is generally overcast, while summer brings the heaviest rains of the year though is much sunnier; there are 8.2 days annually with 50 mm (1.97 in) of rainfall. Autumn is sunny and dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 14.7 °C (58.5 °F) in January to 29.1 °C (84.4 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 22.58 °C (72.6 °F). The annual rainfall is around 1,618 mm (64 in), about 60% of which occurs from May to August. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 28% in March to 58% in July and October, the city receives 1,979 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from 0.3 °C (33 °F) (unofficial record of −0.6 °C (31 °F) was set on 18 January 1893) to 38.8 °C (102 °F).[17]
Climate data for Shantou (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010)
As of 2003, the district of Haojiang was established out of Hepu and Dahao which had been merged, and the district of Jinping Shengping and Jinyuan; Waisha and Xinxi Town, part of former Chenghai City, was merged into Longhu District; Chenghai City became Chenghai District; Chaoyang City was divided and became Chaoyang and Chaonan District respectively.
Economy
Shantou harbor and skyline as viewed from Double Island, June 2022
Shantou's economy is medium by Guangdong standards. Manufacturing accounts for a large and increasing share of employment. Canning, garments, lithography, plastic, and toys are some of the principal products. Toy manufacturing is the city's leading export industry, with 400 million U.S. dollars worth of exports each year. Canaton Calculator Co. is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company.
In 2000, the biggest tax fraud in the history of the People's Republic of China was uncovered, estimated worthy of 32.3 billion yuan. In 2017, the analyzed data of Shantou GDP is approximately 230 billion yuan(US$35.4 billion).
Development zone
With an area of 2.34 km2 (0.90 sq mi), Shantou Free Trade Zone lies at the south part of Shantou city. It was ratified by the State Council of the People's Republic of China and founded in January 1993, and it formally came into use on December of the same year after its supervision installations were checked and accepted by the General Administration of Customs. It has been comprehensively developing export processing, storage, international trade, finance and information industry. Its goal is to establish a modernized international zone that is open to overseas by drawing experience from international free trade zones.[26]
Demographics
Guoping Road in downtown Shantou, December 2018
Shantou is one of the most densely populated regions in China. Former Chaoyang City was China's most populous county-level administrative region, with 2.4 million inhabitants.
Shantou has direct jurisdiction over six districts and one county, and the six urban districts of Shantou have a population of 5,330,764.[citation needed]
Metro area
With it and the surrounding cities of Jieyang and Chaozhou, the administrative metropolitan area known as Chaoshan covers an area of 10,404 km2 (4,017 sq mi), and had a permanent population of 13,648,232 as of the 2020 census. Nevertheless, its built-up area spread on 11 districts, Puning city and Raoping county was home to 12,543,024 inhabitants as of 2020 census.[1]
This is de facto the fifth built-up area of China after Guangzhou-Shenzhen Pearl River Delta megacity, Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou conurbation, Beijing and Hangzhou-Shaoxing agglomeration.
Languages
Most residents are linguistically Chaoshan Min. Chaoshan dialect is a variant of Min Nan (Hokkien-Taiwanese) spoken in the neighbouring Southern Fujian and Taiwan. There are also Hakka, popularly known as Half-Hakka (半山客), living mainly in Chaoyang District and Chaonan District, although they speak Chaoshan on a daily basis and practise Chaoshan culture. The Mandarin-medium education system, widely promoted throughout China, has made most people, especially younger generations, speak Mandarin fluently. Cantonese language TV and labor migrations to the Pearl River Delta has also made Cantonese widely spoken as a third language by the younger generations.
Governmental statistics show that 2.16 million overseas Chinese have roots in Shantou, with significant populations of Teochew people residing in Thailand and Cambodia, which constitute a majority of Thai Chinese and a majority of Chinese Cambodians. This is demonstrated by the unusually high number of international direct flights between Bangkok and Shantou. In addition, there are at least two Teochew-speaking air hostesses on board each China Southern flight between Shantou and Bangkok.[27] The Teochew presence, furthermore, is evident in Singapore and Malaysia; Johor Bahru, a coastal city situated at the latter's southernmost tip, is known as 'Little Swatow', due to the majority local Chinese populace is dominantly Teochew and as well as the second largest group of the local Chinese population in Singapore.
Shantou people share the same culture with other Teochew. The tea-drinking tradition widely practised in town is a classic instance. According to China Daily, Shantou people "drink more tea than anyone else in China, in total 700 million yuan (US$87.5 million) each year".[28]
The public hospitals in the Shantou metropolitan area are operated by the Government of Shantou. Management of these hospitals and other specialist health facilities are coordinated by Shantou Board of Health.
Public transportation is provided by bus, ferry, bike sharing system and taxi. Residents also travel by private car and motorbikes. There are two bridges throughout the city that cross the Shantou Harbor: the Queshi Bridge and Shantou Bay Bridge. A metro system is planned with construction of 3 lines (Lines 1, 2, and 3) commencing in 2018 and opening of the system planned in 2020.
The new CBD of Shantou on the east coast, facing the Taiwan strait, as viewed from Dahao Island.
Air
Shantou previously had its own civil airport, Shantou Waisha Airport. It was formerly the main airport serving the Shantou until nearby Jieyang Chaoshan Airport was opened on 15 December 2011. Shantou Waisha Airport became a military airbase since then and all civilian flights were transferred to the newly built airport in Jieyang.[31] Taxi is the usual way to travel between the airport and the city proper. The taxi fare is around 60 RMB. Airport-Downtown Shantou shuttle charter is also suggested. Based in Shantou, Shantou Airlines Co. operated by China Southern Airlines has a 15 aircraft fleet in service.
Tropic of Cancer Symbol Tower (北回归线标志塔; Běihuíguīxiàn biāozhìtǎ): The Tropic of Cancer slips through Centipede Mountain, which is 20 kilometers away from the city properly.
Shantou Museum (汕头博物馆; Shàntóu bówùguǎn): An art museum.
Shantou Founding Museum (汕头开埠博物馆; Shàntóu kāibù bówùguǎn): This history museum is devoted to the establishment of Swatow (Shantou) as a treaty port in the 19th century, not to be confused with Shantou Museum.
Chaoshan Historical and Cultural Exhibition Center 潮汕历史文化博览中心 is a museum includes four major exhibition areas: Chaoshan cultural relics exhibition area, Chaoshan folk customs exhibition area, overseas Chinese cultural exhibition area, and calligraphy and painting art exhibition area.
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In 1912 Swatow had four newspapers, all in Chinese. They were Han Chao Pao, Ming Chuan (People's Rights), Ta Fung Pao (The Typhoon), and Ta Tung Pao (Eastern Times).[32] In 2018, Shantou Metropolis Daily Post and Shantou Special Economic Zone Evening News both stopped their traditional newspaper business and transform into e-newspaper newspapers. Meanwhile, the Shantou Daily[permanent dead link] (Municipal) keep providing both newspaper service and e-newspaper service for Shantou citizens and other readers.[33]
Education
Education is overseen provincewide by the Guangdong Education Bureau.
Watchman Nee (1903–1972), theologian, and opponent of prosperity theology
Tan Howe Liang (1933–), Singaporean weightlifting Olympian
Chua Soi Lek (1947–), Malaysian politician and former President of MCA
Xu Shilin (1998–), Chinese tennis player, Junior Olympic gold medallist
Shing-Tung Yau (1949–), American mathematician, winner of the 1982 Fields Medal, the William Caspar Graustein Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University
Herbert Allen Giles (1877). From Swatow to Canton: (overland). SHANGHAI : PRINTED AT THE "CELESTIAL EMPIRE" OFFICE: Trübner LONDON : Trübner & CO. SHANGHAI : KELLY & WALSH. p. 74. Retrieved 10 February 2012.(Harvard University)
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