Shantou

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(Redirected from Swatou)

Shantou (Template:Zh-stp; POJ: Sòaⁿ-thau; also seen as Swátōw or Suátao) is a city of 784,000 in coastal eastern Guangdong Province, China, metropolitan area 4,721,117 (calculation 2006).

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 the People's Republic of China established in the 1980s, but failed to blossom like other cities such as Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhuhai. However, it is home to the only university in East Guangdong, Shantou University and remains as the region's economic and cultural centre.

Geographic coordinates: 116º14' - 117º19' E, 23º02' - 23º38' N
Area: 234 km²

1 History
2 Administration
3 Demographics
4 Tourism
5 See also
6 External links

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History

Shantou was a fishing village part of Tuojiang City (鮀江都), Jieyang District (揭陽縣) during the Song Dynasty. It came to be Xialing (廈嶺) during the Yuan Dynasty. In 1563, Shantou was a part of Chenghai District (澄海縣) in Chao Prefecture (Chaozhou). As early as 1574, Shantou had been called Shashan Ping (沙汕坪). In the seventeenth century, a cannon platform called Shashan Toupaotai (沙汕頭炮臺 sha shan tou pao tai) was made here, and the placename later was shortened to "Shantou".

It became a city in 1919, and was separated from Chenghai in 1921. As a high-level city, Shantou administered Chaozhou City from 1983 to 1989.

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Administration

Image:Shantou map2005.jpg Since November 1991 (consented by the PRC in April), Shantou expanded to contain the entire Shantou metropolitan area: Five county-level districts, one county, and two cities (administered on behalf of the province):

Chenghai District (澄海區)
Longhu District (龍湖區)
Jinping District (金平區)
haojiang District (濠江區)
Chaoyang District (潮陽區)
Chaonan Distric (潮南區)
Nan'ao County (南澳縣): island-county

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Demographics

It has a large population from the rest of Chaoshan region, and most residents use the Teochew language of Min Chinese, or the national dialect, Mandarin.

Government statistics show that 2.16 million overseas Chinese have roots in Shantou, with significant populations of Teochew people residing in Southeast Asia. This is demonstrated by the unusually high number of international direct flights between Bangkok and Shantou.

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Tourism

Palace-Temple of Old Mother (老媽宮 Laoma Gong): dedicated to the goddess Matsu
Temple of Emperor Guan (關帝廟 Guandi Miao): dedicated to Guan Yu
Nan'ao Island (南澳島 Nanao Dao): known for its beautiful beaches and excellent weather

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