A Beginner's Guide to Chaoshan Culture: Gongfu Tea, Old Towns and the Qiaoxiang
A cultural primer for anyone visiting Chaoshan for the first time: first, what Chaoshan actually is, then three threads to follow — food, gongfu tea and qiaoxiang roots-seeking.
Chaoshan is not a single city, but a cultural region shared by three cities in eastern Guangdong: Shantou, Chaozhou, and Jieyang. Here people speak Teochew, drink gongfu tea, and preserve clan halls and old-town alleyways intact — it is also the ancestral homeland of many overseas Chinese families.
Why it's worth a dedicated trip
Travelers usually come for three things: food, gongfu tea, and qiaoxiang (overseas-Chinese homeland) culture. None of these are standalone attractions; they are woven into the rhythm of daily life.
Gongfu Tea and the Old Town's Alleys
In the alleys of Chaozhou's old town, a single brew of gongfu tea can be savored for half an hour. Three small cups and a lidded bowl are how locals host guests day to day.
In Chaoshan, drinking tea isn't about quenching thirst — it's about taking your time to finish the conversation.
Clan Halls, Ancestral Villages & Roots Journeys
Many Teochew families across Southeast Asia, in Hong Kong, China, and further overseas still return to visit their ancestral villages and clan halls.
If this thread resonates with you, start with our Roots Journey, which is organised into stages covering genealogy, ancestral villages and clan halls.
To learn the standard method for making Teochew gongfu tea, you can refer to the Wikipedia entry.
A few things that are often mentioned
- Beef hot pot and hand-beaten beef meatballs
- Kway teow, oyster omelette and all kinds of kueh
- Braised meats and claypot porridge
| City | Common highlights |
|---|---|
| Chaozhou | Ancient city, Memorial Archway Street, Guangji Bridge |
| Shantou | Little Park, old town qilou arcades |
| Jieyang | Old city gates, ancestral halls and villages |
This is the first test article we are publishing to verify the CMS pipeline; it will be replaced with official content later.
About the author
Teochew Travel Editorial Team
A local editorial team in Chaoshan documenting old-town lanes, gongfu tea and the qiaoxiang story.
This guide is published by the Teochew Travel editorial team, covering local travel, culture and roots journeys across the Chaoshan region.
