Shantou combines arcade architecture and memorial sites with a subtropical coastal landscape. The city's history can be seen in historic building complexes and individual places of remembrance; Queshi Scenic Area offers a different perspective, with its sea, hills and vegetation. On your trip, you can choose to focus on architectural history, the political past, nature or Chaoshan cuisine.
Arcades and City History
The Xiaogongyuan Opening Port Area preserves a comparatively well-preserved group of modern arcade houses. It offers a glimpse of Shantou's urban layout in the early 20th century and the character of a trading city shaped by overseas Chinese. The relationship between the buildings is just as important as the individual structures: together, they make the historic urban fabric the focus.
The Cai Chusheng and Chaoshan Film Figures Historical Exhibition Hall is housed in an early 20th-century arcade building that was designated a Shantou municipal cultural heritage site in 2017. Unlike the arcade group in Xiaogongyuan, the focus here is on a single building as an architectural landmark.
Memorial Sites and Historical Perspectives
Shipaotai Park is a memorial park whose main structure is Qilu Fort; the complex has a history of more than a hundred years. A named structure is thus linked with the commemorative purpose of the park as a whole.
The Shantou Central Station of the Central Red Traffic Line was established in Shantou in 1931 by the Central Traffic Bureau of the Communist Party of China during the Agrarian Revolutionary War as a secret traffic station under its direct control. The specific year and institutional affiliation give this site a clear connection to revolutionary history.
An exhibition at the Shantou Port Opening History and Culture Museum covers the history of Shantou's opening to the outside world and its development since the establishment of the Special Economic Zone. In addition to individual buildings and memorial sites, it also explores the city's development.
Parks, Coast and Local Cuisine
Established in 1928, Shantou's Zhongshan Park is known for three features: a rock grotto, a memorial archway and the Nine-Arch Bridge. These different elements shape the park together, rather than drawing attention to a single main structure.
Queshi Scenic Area lies between Shantou's southern and northern urban areas and has been rated a national 4A-level tourist attraction. This coastal natural and cultural landscape includes the sea, hills, unusual rocks and caves, as well as subtropical vegetation, old residences and colonial-era villas. Here, natural features and historic buildings come together as elements of a landscape.
When it opened, Zhenbang Food Street in Xiaogongyuan brought together 26 local Chaoshan cuisine brands. Specialties at the time included braised goose, beef balls, oyster omelet, pork blood soup, Chaoshan cold dishes and Chaoshan desserts. The selection thus ranges from meat and soup dishes to cold specialties and desserts.
Discover more destinations: Yunfu, Huizhou, Shanwei, Zhanjiang, Shaoguan, Heyuan, Jieyang, Foshan
For the overview of the wider region: Guangdong.
