Meizhou (,

Hakka Chinese Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities aroun ...

: Mòichû) is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China ...

in eastern

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 million as of the 2020 census. It comprises

Meijiang District Meijiang () is a district of Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, China. Administrative divisions * Subdistricts (): ** Jinshan () **Jiangnan () ** Xijiao () *Towns: **Changsha () ** Sanjiao () ** Chengbei () Ethno-linguistic make-up Meijiang is n ...

Meixian District Meixian (, Hakka: Moiyen), formerly Meihsien, is a district of Meizhou City, in northeastern Guangdong Province, China. The county is an important Hakka settlement and is the ancestral home of many Hakka descendants living in Taiwan. History ...

Xingning City :''Xingning is also the era name for Emperor Ai of the Jin dynasty.'' Xingning ( postal: Hingning; , Hakka: Hinnên) is a county-level city, under the jurisdiction of Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, China. The second largest city in east Guan ...

and five counties. Its built-up or metro area made up of two urban districts was home to 992,351 inhabitants.

History

Since

Neolithic age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

historical sites with unearthed a number of stone tools and pottery, have been discovered in dozens of places in the Meixian area of Meizhou. In the Meixian area, ancient kiln sites from the Western Zhou Dynasty and bells from the Warring States Period were also found. Before the

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

, Meizhou was under

Nanyue Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establis ...

rule. After Qin unified the Nanyue, Meizhou was belonged to

Nanhai Commandery Nanhai Commandery ( zh, 南海郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty. At the greatest extent, Nanhai's territories covered present-day Guangdong, Hainan, southeastern Guangxi and the southern tip of Fujian. The s ...

. Originally name of Meizhou was Chengxiang (程乡), it was established under the prefecture of

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

during the

Southern Han Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...

(917-971). It became Meizhou at the 10th century and

Jiaying Prefecture Meizhou (, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 million as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xingning Cit ...

at the 15th century. After 1912, it was changed to Meizhou, the name comes from the

Mei River The Mei River ( Chinese: 梅江; Pinyin: Méi Jiāng) is a river in Meizhou City in the eastern part of the Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north sho ...

and the Chinese name for the plum blossom (). After several subsequent shifts of jurisdiction, it became Meizhou City in 1988. Meizhou is now a noted historical and cultural city.

Geography and climate

Meizhou is located in the northeast of Guangdong Province, bordering

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

Province in the northeast and

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

Province in the northwest. The complex geological structure was formed mainly from granite, spouting rocks, metamorphic rock, shale, sandstone, red rock and limestone. Its administrative area ranges in latitude from 23° 23' to 24° 56' N and in longitude from 115° 18' to 116° 56' E, covering an area of . Meizhou has a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Cfa''), with short, mild, overcast winters and long, very hot, humid summers. The monthly daily average temperature in January is , and in July is . From April to June, rainfall is the heaviest and most frequent. Though striking

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s do not affect the area as much as the coast, the mountainous topography means that flooding is a serious concern.

Administration

The municipal government, Intermediate Court, CPC office and

Public Security Bureau A Public Security Bureau (PSB) () of a city or county, or Public Security Department (PSD) () of a province or autonomous region, in the People's Republic of China refers to a government office essentially acting as a police station or a local ...

are located in the Jiangnan Subdistrict of the

, on the right bank of

Economy

Meizhou is rich in mineral and tourism resources. It has 48 kinds of minerals including coal, iron, limestone, rare clay and porcelain clay amongst others. Of these reserves manganese is ranked first in Guangdong Province. Meizhou has plenty of water resources, hot springs and certified mineral waters. There are tourism resources such as cultural historic sites constructed during the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

, former residences of notable figures, natural scenery of all kinds, and unique Hakka cultural sights.

Transport

Meizhou is a communication hub for the three provinces of Guangdong,

, and

and the bridge connecting the coastal and the inland areas. State Highways 205 and 206 run across the city. Expressways, state, provincial county and village highways extend to all parts. In 2019 the city became the terminus for the Meizhou–Chaoshan high-speed railway which opened a new station at providing high-speed rail links to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pear ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, Shantou,

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa (; peng'im: ''Dio5suan1'' i̯o˥˥꜖꜖.sũ̯ã˧˧ is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Min Nan Chaoshan dialect (). The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, c ...

Yichang Yichang (), alternatively romanized as Ichang, is a prefecture-level city located in western Hubei province, China. It is the third largest city in the province after the capital, Wuhan and the prefecture-level city Xiangyang, by urban populati ...

and

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...

. The Guangzhou–Meizhou–Shantou railway and Meizhou-Kanshi Railway use Meizhou railway station in the city providing regular rail connections to

, Shantou,

, Dapu, Wuchang and Kunming. The city is served by the regional Meixian Airport, with regular air routes to

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. By water, the

and Han River reach Chaozhou and Shantou.

Culture

Meizhou is considered the center for standard

Hakka dialect Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities ar ...

, along with the neighboring Mei County and Dabu County.Far East Society Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

originally from around the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

area, who later migrated south to avoid the chaos of war centuries ago. Due to hostility towards the new immigrants, many were forced into the mountainous regions of Guangdong Province. This migratory tradition has continued with the redistribution of Hakka people to the most remote parts of the world. Many people in Meizhou emigrated during the last century to earn money for their families, with some returning to build in their hometowns. Many buildings are named after famous people in Meizhou, built by returning Hakkas. Because of its mountainous location, Meizhou has numerous natural scenic areas and good air quality. Many visitors come to the Yannanfei Tea Garden to climb the mountain.

Education

Education in Meizhou has been highly valued since ancient times. The city is home to Jiaying University, a local university which also attracts Hakka students from other provinces. The university is also known for its research into

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

culture.

Food

During the period after August or September, a sea of pomelos can be seen, especially in village orchards. Salt baked chicken is among the most well-known Hakka dishes, found also in many other cities. Another local dish is Yong tau foo (stuffed

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...

). It is said that when Hakka people first came south, there was no wheat flour for dumplings. So they substituted tofu. Meat based fillings give a special taste that became a feature of Hakka cuisine. Preserved beef and ginger candies are also locally popular.

Notable people

*Low Lan Pak, founder of the Lanfang Republic. *

Tjong Yong Hian Tjong Yong Hian (1850–1911) was a Hakka Chinese businessman and Kapitan Cina, kapitan who had a great contribution to the development of society in the city of Medan around the early 1900s, he is also brother of Tjong A Fie, the successor ka ...

(1850-1911), Chinese Hakka kapitan governor of Medan. *

Tjong A Fie Tjong A Fie, Majoor der Chinezen (1860–1921), or Tjong Yiauw Hian (spelled in Hakka Chinese dialect, ; Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chông Yeu Hian), birth name Zhang Hongnan (), was a Hakka Chinese businessman, banker and kapitan (Chinese major) ...

(18601921),

businessman, banker and

kapitan Capitan and Kapitan are equivalents of the English Captain in other European languages. Capitan, Capitano, and Kapitan may also refer to: Places in the United States *Capitan, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Capitan, New Mexico, a villag ...

(Chinese major) who built a large plantation business in Sumatra, Indonesia. * Huang Zunxian (18481905), diplomat and reformer *

Francis Xavier Ford Francis Xavier Ford, MM was an American bishop of the Catholic Church and a Maryknoll missionary in China. Because of his torture by the Communist Chinese and death in prison in 1952, he is considered a martyr, and the cause for his canonization ...

(18921952), first Catholic bishop of Meizhou (Kaying) * Xie Jinyuan (19051941), Chinese Nationalist military officer famous for commanding the Defense of Sihang Warehouse during the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan The also ...

in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. * Seng Saekhu (c. 1840sunknown),

Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin ( th, ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; ''exonym and also domestically''), endonym Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย), are Chinese descenda ...

tax farmer Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...

, the patriarch of the Shinawatra clan and the great-grandfather of

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, ...

( Thai businessman, politician, visiting professor and former Prime Minister of Thailand) and Yingluck Shinawatra (Thai businesswoman, politician, member of the Pheu Thai Party and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

's first female Prime Minister). *

Ye Jianying Ye Jianying (; 28 April 1897 – 22 October 1986) was a Chinese Communist revolutionary leader and politician, one of the founding Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China. He was the top military leader in the 1976 coup that overthre ...

(18971986), Chinese military general * Lin Fengmian (19001991), painter *

Lee Wai Tong Lee Wai Tong (; 16 October 1905 – 4 July 1979) was a Hong Kong and Chinese international association football player, head coach, and former Vice President of FIFA. He is often regarded as the greatest Chinese footballer due to his accomplish ...

(19051979), Chinese footballer *

Arthur Chung Arthur Raymond Chung (10 January 1918 – 23 June 2008) was the 1st President of Guyana from 1970 to 1980.

(19182008), 1st President of Guyana * Liu Fuzhi (19172013), Chinese politician *

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. Throughout a 26-year career from 1977 until his death, Cheung released over 40 music albums and acted in 56 films. He was one of the most prominent ...

(19562003), Hong Kong

Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...

singer * Zhu Fenglian (1977), spokesperson of the

Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency under the State Council of Mainland China. It is responsible for setting and implementing guidelines and policies related to the Republic of China (Taiwan), as stipul ...

* Chen Qiqiu (1978), former badminton player and currently a coach * Liu Xijun (1988), singer * Jana Chen (1989), singer

Gallery

Image:Meizhou New Century Square.jpg, Jiaying University, Meizhou - New Century Square (located in the center of the main campus) Image:Youluo Street, Meizhou (20200929092821).jpg, Youluo Street, Meizhou File:1999-10-16 Meizhou ricepaddy field.jpg, Meizhou rice paddy image:Mei Zhou.jpg, Meizhou street corner. image:Road in Meizhou.jpg, Meizhou Jiang Nan Rd.

References

External links

Official Meizhou Government website.
{{Authority control Prefecture-level divisions of Guangdong