Shantou Travel Guide - Brief Information on Shantou

Shantou in Chinese Pinyin:  shàn tóu
Shantou in Chinese Writing:    

Shantou in Chinese Pronunciation:    Click the button to learn how to say Shantouin Mandarin Chinese. Or you can download it to your hand device to play it to a conductor when buying a train ticket to Shantou.

Shantou Overview:  Located at the southeast of Guangdong Province, Shantou is on the verge of China South Sea. Covering an area of 2,064 square kilometers, Shantou has a population of 4.9445 million. It is only 195 nautical miles away from Hong Kong and 214 nautical miles away from Kaohsiung of Taiwan, which is Guangdong’s nearest city from Taiwan. Shantou is one of the five Special Economic Zones in China and furthermore, it is the earliest port city opened to external trade and the famous commodity collection and distribution point in China and therefore, it has a reputation of “Commercial Port for hundreds of Years”. Shantou is the famous hometown for overseas Chinese as well as one of the largest immigrant ports in China. 

Map of Shantou:  Here is a rough map of Shantou showing where Shantou is located on the map of China.

 

Shantou Climate & Weather:  By the influence of Southern subtropical oceanic climate, it is not too hot in summer and not too cold in winter with mild temperature and moist environment. It is sufficient in sunshine and plentiful in rainfall. The yearly average sunshine is between 2000 and 2500 hours, and the yearly average rainfall volume is between 1300mm and 1800mm and the yearly average temperature of 21℃ to 22℃. And the best season for travelers to go to Shantou is Apr., May, Sep. and Oct..

Language in Shantou:  Shantou has its own dialect which belongs to Guangdong dialect. It’s not easy to understand for Mandarin speakers.

Shantou Transportation:   As an important transportation hub of eastern Guangdong Province, southwest of Fujian Province, and southeast of Jiangxi Province. Shantou is developing its transportation in sea, land and air simultaneously.

By Air:  Currently Chaoshan International Airport is under estimate and Shantou Waisha Airport is opened for use, which is only 13 kilometers away from the downtown area of Shantou. The flight routes from Shantou to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, Wuhan and Changsha and simultaneously, the flight routes from Shantou to Bangkok are also available in the airport. 

By Train:  One of the most important point on Guang (Guangzhou)-Mei (Meizhou) Railway is Shantou and the railway is interacted with Jing-Jiu Railway at Longchuan and therefore linked to the railways to most cities in China. Especially, the express trains from Shantou to Guangzhou have shortened the distance between Shantou and Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other cities.

By Bus:  Shantou is one of the 45 cities which is the main hub of public road in China and No.324, and No.206 National Highway run through the city. Moreover, Shen (Shenzhen)-Shan (Shantou) Highway and Shan (Shantou)-Fen (Fenshuiguan) Highway linked Pearl River Delta and Banlam Golden Triangle. Currently, there are together 6 coach station in Shantou, which is Passenger transportation Master Station, Nanxiang Bus Station, Xidi Bus Station, Zhonglv Bus Station, Dongxia Bus Station and Eastern Jinsha Bus Station.

City Transportation: There are many city bus lines in Shantou to satisfy the needs of passengers and the fare for the city buses is mostly CNY1 and CNY2, especially some charge according to the miles.

The flag-down fare for taxies in Shantou is CNY9 for the first class taxi and CNY8 and 7 for the second and third class taxi.

Water Transportation:  Shantou has an advantage geographical location in water transportation and therefore, there are a lot of ports in Shantou, such as Shantou Passenger Depot Ferry Port, Shantou Port Passenger Depot, Xidi Passenger Depot Ferry Port, Square Ferry Station, and Changshanwei Port.

Shantou Food:  Local delicacies include Chaozhou dishes, Yuangyang Crab Paste, Shengcai Lobster, Stewed Fin with Brown Sauce, Oyster Omelette, Stewed Eel in Broth, and Chicken Broth with Crab Ball. And another feature for Shantou cuisine is the advantages in cooking vegetables, which is fresh and delicious in taste as well as delicate cooking with raw materials.

Major Shantou Tourism Resources:  

Tourist Attractions:  Shantou has a lot of tourism resources, among which the major attractions are Queshi Landscape and Scenery Area, Shantou Bay, Zhongxin Golf Beach Vocation Village, Sangpu Mountain Scenic Zone, Chencihong Former Residence, Haimen Lotus Peak, Nan’ao Ecotourism Zone and Zhongshan Garden.

Travel Agencies:  There are 1 licensed tour operators which can offer travel services to international travelers. Please refer to all these Shantou travel agencies.