- Wade-Giles romanization:
- Shan-t’ou
- Conventional:
- Swatow
Shantou
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Where is Shantou located in China?
Shantou is a city in the eastern Guangdong province, in southern China. It is a port city located on the coast of the South China Sea, west of the Han River's mouth. Shantou is on an inlet that extends approximately 10 miles inland on the southwestern part of the delta. It serves as the regional center and primary port for eastern Guangdong.
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What kind of city is Shantou?
Shantou is a city in the eastern Guangdong province of southern China, situated on the South China Sea coast, west of the Han River's mouth. It serves as the regional center and primary port for eastern Guangdong.
Once a small fishing village, Shantou's development accelerated after it was designated as an outport to Chaozhou in 1861. By the 1930s, it was a major port for transportation, commerce, and Chinese emigration to Southeast Asia. Despite damage during the second Sino-Japanese War, Shantou has since experienced substantial industrial growth since 1949, especially after the establishment of a special economic zone in 1981.
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What is Shantou known for?
Shantou, located in Guangdong province, China, is known as the regional center and a chief port in the eastern part of Guangdong. Originally a small fishing village, Shantou grew into a major port for transportation and commerce after being designated a treaty port in 1858. The city was also one of the primary departure points for Chinese emigrants to Southeast Asia; around 2.5 million emigrants left Shantou between 1880 and 1909. Today, Shantou is known for its diversified industrial production, including photochemistry, textiles, processed foods, and electronic products.
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What is the history of Shantou as a port city?
Shantou, a city in Guangdong province, sits on the South China Sea coast near the Han River's mouth. Once a small fishing village under Chenghai, Shantou's history as a port city began in 1861 when it opened as Chaozhou's outport. It quickly grew into a major transportation, commerce, and emigration hub; from 1880 to 1909, roughly 2.5 million emigrants departed from Shantou.
Japanese bombardments during the second Sino-Japanese War in 1938 caused severe damage to the port, and Japanese forces occupied it from 1939 to 1945. Since 1949, Shantou has experienced considerable industrial development, and in 1981, a special economic zone was established there, which expanded in 1991, spurring further economic development.
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What languages and cultures are common in Shantou?
Shantou, located in Guangdong province, is at the center of the linguistically distinct Chaoshan area. The population of Guangdong is largely Han Chinese; however, there are other ethnic minorities.
Cantonese is the most important language in Guangdong, but Southern Min (Minnan) is spoken mostly along the eastern coastal area centered on Shantou. Though there is ethnic homogeneity in Guangdong, there is a great diversity of dialects and languages.
Ancestor worship, folk religions, Daoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam coexist in the province.
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How is Shantou connected to other parts of China and the world today?
Shantou is well-connected to other parts of China and the world through various transportation networks. A railway line, completed in 1995, links Shantou with Hong Kong and Guangzhou and connects to another line east to Fujian province. Expressways offer quick access to Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Ports in Shantou provide marine cargo shipment services to over 200 ports domestically and internationally. Guangdong province, where Shantou is located, has developed one of the best highway networks in China, primarily running along river valleys. Air services also connect Guangdong to numerous international cities.
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Shantou, city in eastern Guangdong sheng (province), southern China. It lies on the coast of the South China Sea a short distance west of the mouth of the Han River, which, with its tributary, the Mei River, drains most of eastern Guangdong. The Han forms a delta, and Shantou is on an inlet that extends about 10 miles (16 km) inland on the southwestern part of the delta. The city stands at the narrow seaward end of this inlet, where the delta on the north shore approaches the rocky promontory to the south. The harbour is impeded by a sandbar and is subject to irregular weather and typhoons. In 1922 a typhoon wrecked the port and killed some 50,000 people. In spite of these disadvantages, Shantou is the regional centre and chief port for the eastern part of Guangdong. The Han is navigable by shallow-draft boats to Meizhou, some 35 miles (55 km) above Xingning.
Until the 19th century, Shantou was only a small fishing village subordinate to the county of Chenghai. In 1858 Chaozhou (formerly Chao’an), some 20 miles (32 km) up the Han River, was designated a treaty port; Shantou was opened three years later as its outport. It then developed rapidly into a major port and centre of transportation and commerce. By the 1930s Shantou had an enormous junk trade with various ports on the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, ranking second only to Guangzhou (Canton) among the southern Chinese ports. Shantou was also one of the principal ports from which Chinese emigrants went to Southeast Asia. It has been calculated that some 2.5 million emigrants left Shantou in 1880–1909. During the second Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), the port was seriously damaged by Japanese bombardments in 1938 and was captured by the Japanese in 1939, remaining in their hands until 1945.
Shantou obtained its first railway—a short line running to Chao’an (Chaozhu)—as early as 1906. It proved, however, to be uncompetitive with local junk traffic and fell into disrepair in the 1930s, as also did a narrow-gauge line to nearby Chenghai. Shantou thus depended on the Han River and on a reasonably good highway system to give it access to its considerable hinterland, which includes parts of southern Jiangxi and southwestern Fujian provinces, as well as eastern Guangdong.
Shantou was once known mainly for its exports of sugar, fruit, canned goods, and marine products. However, there has been much industrial development since 1949, with an unusually diversified range of production. In 1981 a special economic zone was established in Shantou, and later in 1991 it expanded to the whole urban districts under the city, thus ushering in an extended period of economic development. Industries of photochemistry, ultrasonic instruments, magnetogram and electronic products, toys, textiles, and processed foods have been developed. Drawnwork and other local needlework handicrafts are known throughout the country. A railway completed in 1995 links the city with Hong Kong and Guangzhou and connects another line east to Fujian province. Expressways provide the city with fast access to Shenzhen and farther to Guangzhou. Ports of the city have marine cargo-shipment services with more than 200 domestic and overseas ports. Shantou University, supported financially by overseas Chinese, was established in the city in the early 1980s. Pop. (2002 est.) city, 1,201,184; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 1,601,000.