Shantou 

Like most places in china that鈥檚 got a rich cultural background, Chaoshan area also got its unique local opera here called Chaoju. And watching Chaoju is still a major event for local people.

Chaoju is very popular among overseas Chaoshan people. We鈥檝e performed at Singapore, France, United States, Thailand, and Malaysia.

As one of the major local operas of China, Chaoju has a large classic repertoire passed down over the history of 1000 years.

One audience: I started to like Chaoju since I was very young.

Another said: I鈥檝e been a fan of Chaoju for my whole life.

And for millions of overseas Chaoshanese, the soft melody is the key to their memories of the hometown that they left behind as younglings.

It was by way of the South Sea that millions of Chaoshanese bid farewell to their hometown and embarked on their life journey. I really cannot imagine how they felt at the time not knowing where their destinations were and whether they鈥檇 ever be able to come back. Surely not as relaxed as I feel right now, coz I鈥檓 going to take some quality time at that big island ahead of me 鈥Nan鈥檃o Island.鈥

Nan鈥檃o sits on the border of Guangdong and Fujiang Provinces, covers a total area of 109 square kilometers, and is a huge eco-tourist zone of thousands different plants and numerous migration birds.

I highly recommend you get a car and drive around the island since they鈥檝e got a nicely-built highway circling around the whole island. Basically you can drive your way to all your destinations on the island while enjoying the spectacular sea view.

This stuff is critical when you come to Nan鈥檃o, suntan lotion. The subtropical sunshine is really strong here.

Qing鈥檃o is the place to first see sunrise on Nan鈥檃o island. The beach definitely is on the par with many world-famous beach resorts. It runs for about 2.4 kilometers of extremely fine sands. And for almost 150 meters into the ocean, the water only averages at 1.2 meter deep, perfect for swimming.

I bet you鈥檝e never done this before at any other beach resort, casting a fishnet yourself.

I鈥檓 getting the hang of it!

After that, just go about and enjoy the beach or do whatever you do, come back before dark and collect your harvest!

The island sits on the mouth of Taiwan Straights, so the wind blows hard all year round. And turns out to be a big fortune for local people now.

So here you find the largest island wind power plant in Asia.

Nan鈥檃o island holds a strategic importance in coastal defense, can you imagine that this tiny village used to be governed by two provinces? This side being Fujiang and this side Guangdong, and the street is called Guiding Jie.

The derelict buildings and slow pace of everything seem all so serene, hardly conveying the tumultuous history the tiny village experienced over the years.

Wow, this is a big one! Banyan tree is not rare to see in south China, but this is a special one 鈥it鈥檚 also known as the recruiting tree. Legend has it that General Zheng Chenggong of late Ming Dynasty used to recruit his soldiers under this tree to fight against invaders and pirates. And how to qualify for his army? This! You鈥檝e got to be able to lift it up. Well, I guess I鈥檓 not qualified to be his soldier then.

General Zheng Chenggong is known in Chinese history for recovering Taiwan from the Dutch invaders.