Meizhou
Encyclopedia
Administration
The municipal government, Intermediate CourtIntermediate people's court
An intermediate people's court is the second lowest local people's court in the People's Republic of China. According to the Organic Law of the People's Courts of the People's Republic of China, the intermediate people's courts handle relevant important local cases in the first instance and hear...
and CPC
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
and PSB
Public Security Bureau
In the People's Republic of China, a public security bureau refers to the government offices while the smaller offices are called Police posts which are similar in concept to the Japanese Kōban system) present in each province and municipality that handles policing , public security, and...
bureaux are housed in the district of Jiangnan (江南)
Jiangnan District, Meizhou
Jiangnan is a subdistrict in Meijiang District, Meizhou, Guangdong, China.The municipal government, Intermediate Court and CPC and PSB bureaux are housed here....
, on the right bank of Meijiang River
Meijiang River
The Mei River is a river in Meizhou prefecture in the eastern part of the Guangdong province in southern China and a tributary of the Han River. Major bridges over it include the Jianying Jinian Bridge....
.
A second district of Meizhou is Jiangbei (江北)
Jiangbei District, Meizhou
Jiangbei is a district in the Municipal region of Meizhou, Guangdong. It is situated on the left bank of the Meijiang .Jiangbei and its sister Jiangnan, on the right bank, were long the urban core of the famous Meixian County...
, on the left bank. The two urban areas are joined by many road and foot bridges.
Both of these are subdistricts of Meijiang District.
| Map | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Hanzi | Hanyu Pinyin | Population (2003 est.) | Area (km²) | Density (/km²) |
| 1 | Meijiang District Meijiang District Meijiang District is a district of Guangdong Province, China. It is under the administration of Meizhou city.-Administrative divisions:*Subdistricts :**Jinshan **Jiangnan **Xijiao *Towns:**Changsha **Sanjiao... |
梅江区 | Méijiāng Qū | 310,000 | 323 | 960 |
| 2 | Xingning City | 兴宁市 | Xīngníng Shì | 1,130,000 | 2,104 | 537 |
| 3 | Mei County | 梅县 | Méi Xiàn | 610,000 | 2,754 | 221 |
| 4 | Dabu County Dabu County Dabu County is a district of Meizhou, Guangdong Province of China. It is a center of Hakka culture. In Survivor : Micronesia the merged tribe was named Dabu.... |
大埔县 | Dàbù Xiàn | 520,000 | 2,470 | 211 |
| 5 | Fengshun County | 丰顺县 | Fēngshùn Xiàn | 670,000 | 2,710 | 247 |
| 6 | Wuhua County | 五华县 | Wǔhuá Xiàn | 1,200,000 | 3,226 | 372 |
| 7 | Pingyuan County | 平远县 | Píngyuǎn Xiàn | 250,000 | 1,381 | 181 |
| 8 | Jiaoling County | 蕉岭县 | Jiāolǐng Xiàn | 220,000 | 957 | 230 |
Economy
Meizhou is rich in mineral and tourism resources. It has 48 kinds of minerals including coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, iron mine, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, rare clay and porcelain clay etc., among which the reserves of manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
are ranked first in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
province. Meizhou has plenty of water resources, hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s and qualified mineral water. There are tourism resources such as cultural historic sites constructed during the Tang Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
, former residences of famous figures, natural scenery of all kinds, and unique Hakka cultural sights.
Transport
Meizhou is a vital communication hub for the three provinces of GuangdongGuangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
, and Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
. It is the bridge connecting the coastal and the inland areas. State Highways 205 and 206 run across the city.
Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou Railway and Meizhou-Kanshi Railway cross here.
Expressways, state, provincial county and village highways reach all parts of the city.
With regard to air transport, there are air routes to Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
By water, the Mei River and Han River reach Chaozhou
Chaozhou
Chaozhou is a city in eastern Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. It borders Shantou to the south, Jieyang to the southwest, Meizhou to the northwest, the province of Fujian to the east, and the South China Sea to the southeast...
and Shantou
Shantou
Shantou , historically known as Swatow or Suátao, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of...
.
People and culture
Meizhou is considered the center for standard Hakka dialect, along with the neighboring Mei County and Dabu CountyDabu County
Dabu County is a district of Meizhou, Guangdong Province of China. It is a center of Hakka culture. In Survivor : Micronesia the merged tribe was named Dabu....
.
Hakkas are a unique ethnic group of Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
originally from around the Yellow River
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...
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
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
. The 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 their hometowns.
Many buildings are named after famous people in Meizhou, built by returning Hakkas.
As a mountainous area, Meizhou has many beautiful natural scenes and good air quality. Many visitors come to the Yannanfei Tea Garden to climb the mountain. On the mountain, the eyes are treated to a feast of greenery, and visitors feel as if "walking among the clouds". Here, one cannot avoid the flavour of the tea.
Hakka folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
is also a feature of the area. The folk songs sing of the Hakka people, their passion for their hometown, and of love.
Education
Meizhou has attached much importance to culture and education since ancient times, and enjoys advanced education now. The city is the hometown of Huang ZunxianHuang Zunxian
Huang Zunxian , courtesy name Gongdu , was a Chinese writer and poet, active during the late Qing Dynasty. He was born in Chia-ying, now Mei County, Guangdong, and died 57 years later in the same place.-Biography:...
, a diplomat and reformist, modern poet Li Jinhua
Li Jinhua
Li Jinhua is a high official of the People's Republic of China.-Biography:Li Jinhua was born in Rudong, Jiangsu in 1943...
, painter Lin Fengmian
Lin Fengmian
Lin Fengmian , originally Lin Fengming , was a Chinese painter and is considered a pioneer of modern Chinese painting for blending Chinese and Western painting styles...
and marshal Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying
Ye Jianying was a Chinese communist general and the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 1978 to 1983.-Biography:...
.
Food
During the period after August or September, a sea of pomelos can be seen, especially in the village's orchardOrchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s.
Hakka cuisine
Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka people, who are primarily found in southeastern China , but also may be found in many other parts of China, as well as in the Chinese diaspora...
, which can also be bought in many other cities in China. Another local dish is Yong tau foo
Yong tau foo
Yong tau foo is a Chinese soup dish with Hakka origins commonly found in China, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. There are also Teochew and Hokkien variations....
(tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and 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
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
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
Hakka cuisine
Hakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka people, who are primarily found in southeastern China , but also may be found in many other parts of China, as well as in the Chinese diaspora...
. Other foods like preserved beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
and ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
candies are also very popular.
External links
- Meizhou Govt.
- http://www.getgd.net/gd_city/meizou/mzintr.e.html
- pornolar
See also
- Hakka peopleHakka peopleThe Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
- Hakka cuisineHakka cuisineHakka cuisine is the cooking style of the Hakka people, who are primarily found in southeastern China , but also may be found in many other parts of China, as well as in the Chinese diaspora...