Meizhou
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| Image:Meizhou map2005.jpg | |
| Administration Type | Prefecture-level city |
| City Seat | Meijiang District |
| Area | 15,836 km² |
| Population | 4,863,800 (2002) |
| GDP - Total - Per Capita | ¥ ¥ |
| Major Nationalities | Han |
| County-level divisions | 8 |
| Township-level divisions | |
| CPC Committee Secretary | |
| Mayor | |
| Area code | 753 |
| Postal Code | 514000 |
| License Plate Prefix | 粤M |
Image:Meizhou New Century Square.jpg
Meizhou (Template:Zh-cp) is a prefecture-level city of eastern Guangdong Province in the south of the People's Republic of China. It has an area of 15,836 km², and a population of 4.8638 million.
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Administration
Meizhou has jurisdiction over the six counties of Meixian, Dapu, Fengshun, Wuhua, Pingyuan, and Jiaoling; the district of Meijiang, and the mandate for the city of Xingning.
Culture
One experiences a very different culture, when visiting Meizhou. The standard dialect Hakka dialect is spoken here, the traditional Hakka culture is present.
It is considered one of the largest habitations of Hakka people in the world. It is the home of pomelo, and the home of football, and also the home of many expatriate Chinese. For these reasons Meizhou is famous.
Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of Han Chinese originally from around the Yellow River area, who later migrated to the south to avoid the chaos created by wars centuries ago. Due to hostilities faced by these new immigrants, many were forced into the mountainous regions of Guangdong. The migratory tradition continued with the redistribution of Hakka people in the most remote parts of the world. Many people in Meizhou emigrated during the last century to earn money to raise their families, with some returning to build their hometown.
Many buildings can be seen named after famous people in Meizhou. They were built by the returning Hakkas. Tsang Hin Chi, founder of the Gold Lion Tie company, has made a great contribution to the development of Meizhou. Thanks to this company, the city has fine buildings and the economy has improved. (please cite)
As Meizhou is a mountain area so there are many beautiful natural scenes and the air quality is good. Many visitors came to the Yannanfei Tea Garden to mountaineer. On the mountain, eyes will view the green colours, and one will feel as if walking among the clouds. Here, one cannot avoid the flavour of the tea.
Hakka folk music is also a feature of the area. One must experience while there a musical tour of Hakka traditions in the parks. Here many old people gather to sing the folk songs for entertainment. In the folks songs one will hear more about the Hakka people and their passion for their hometown, and love songs.
Food
If one visits Meizhou after August or September, one will view a sea of pomelos, especially in the orchards in the villages. The visitors will perhaps buy this delicious special local product as well as the salt baked chicken, the most famous Hakka food, which can be bought in many other cities in China. Another local dish is Yong Tau Foo (tofu stuffed with meat), which has a very interesting origin. It is said that when Hakka people first came to the south, there was no wheat flour to make dumplings so they used tofu instead. They put meat and some other ingredients into the tofu and it made a good, special taste. It was handed down and became a special recipe of Hakka cuisine. Other foods like preserved beef and ginger candies are also very popular.