Shantou 

cctv.com 06-30-2005 14:31

姹(Shan), meaning sand beach. It鈥檚 got water and mountain, and it is going to be our travel destination today. Welcome to Travelogue! I鈥檓 Xiaolan. In today鈥檚 Shantou trip, I will bring you to enjoy the precious sun shine, golden beach, and incredible ocean at Nan鈥檃o Island; appreciate unique Chaoshan culture in these old residences; and explore the amazing history of this port city!

Situated on the Chao-shan Plain in East Guangdong Province, Shantou is one of the key port cities in South China, a place of savvy business people and hometown of millions of overseas Chinese.

Shantou may not hit you with a bam like some exotic hideaways in China; the gentle aftertaste can linger on and on, just like sampling a cup of Chaoshan Kungfu tea.

Shantou was made an open seaport city in 1861 after the Opium War. Three rivers merge at the port, making it the only pass to get into Chao-shan plain from the sea at the time.

That explains why you will find a stone cannon fortress in downtown Shantou overlooking the bay.

鈥淩eally tall! Want to know what this material is made of? Remember a local rhyme, 綰三硸緋背璐濈伆娌 hongtang is sugar; nuomi, glutinous rice; Beihuisha, a special construction material made of sand with sea shells.鈥/font>

The ring-shaped fortress was built in 1874, consisting of two levels, with space that can store 18 cannons and station 2000 soldiers.

鈥淲ow, the life was really hard for those soldiers, this tiny space was their bedroom!鈥/font>

And here looks like a storage place for cannons. It would be really stifling down here. Great, an air passageway! So the wind can blow down from above. The ventilator also serves another purpose.

鈥淐an you hear me down there? The enemy boat is here, quick, get the cannons ready!鈥/font>

So in case of emergency, the ventilators also served as the communication towers of the fortress.

It is said to be the only stairway that shaped like waves in the whole country. It was used to move the cannons from the basement level to the upper level.