Chenghai, Shantou

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Chenghai, Shantou

Chenghai is a district in the city of Shantou, located in Guangdong Province, China. It lies in the Han River Delta in the southeast of the province and is a key transportation hub in East Guangdong. The local people mainly speak Teochew.

Quick facts
- Area: about 345.23 square kilometers
- Population: about 874,444 (2020 census)
- Language: Teochew
- Time zone: UTC+8

History in brief
- Chenghai was established as a county in 1563 during the Ming Dynasty, created from lands of nearby counties.
- The name means “clear the sea” and came from defense against historic pirate raids.
- It was dissolved in 1666 but rebuilt seven years later.
- Shantou opened as a trading port in 1860, and Shantou city later separated from Chenghai (1910s–1920s).
- Japanese forces occupied Chenghai from 1939 to 1945. The area came under the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
- Chenghai became a county-level city in 1994, was later administered by Shantou in 2003, and joined Shantou’s Special Economic Zone in 2011.

Economy today
- Chenghai is a dynamic center for industry, especially toys and gifts. It is known as China Toys & Gifts City.
- The district hosts thousands of toy, gift, and animation manufacturers, with exports forming a large part of its business.
- Notable companies and clusters include Guangdong Alpha Animation and Culture, Qunxing Toys, and Rastar Group. The area has built a complete toy industry chain from design to distribution.
- In 2013, toy, gift, and animation output topped billions of yuan, with a large share coming from exports.
- Chenghai also faced challenges: in 2021 it appeared on a Notorious Markets List for counterfeit toy production.

Climate
- Chenghai has a sunny, subtropical monsoon climate.
- Winters are dry and mild; summers are hot, humid, and rainy.
- The area receives most rainfall in the summer months.

Education
- Chenghai has several notable high schools. The most famous is Chenghai Middle School, founded in 1915 as the first county middle school in eastern Guangdong. It has produced well-known alumni such as the writer Qin Mu.
- Other major high schools include Subei Middle School, Experimental Middle School, and Overseas Chinese High School.

Tourist attractions
- Chen Cihong’s Former Residence: a large, historic overseas-Chinese residence with traditional Chaoshan architecture, now a museum.
- Lianhua Scenic Area: a national AAAA tourist site featuring parks, the Lotus Temple, and nearby historic villages and springs.
- Cultural Revolution Museum: a museum in Mountain Ta, funded in part by Li Ka-shing, dedicated to China’s Cultural Revolution.
- Laiwu Island: a scenic island resort known for natural beauty and seaweed harvesting.
- In total, Chenghai offers dozens of attractions, including cultural sites and natural scenery.

Notable people with roots in Chenghai
- Qin Mu, famous writer
- Peng Qi’an, former mayor of Shantou and founder of a Cultural Revolution memorial museum
- Various figures who have influenced Thailand, Hong Kong, and Chaoshan culture

Chenghai today is best known as a busy, export-oriented center for toys and gifts, with a long history and a rich Chaoshan culture. It remains an important part of Shantou and the wider Guangdong region.