Meizhou
People's Republic of China · Asia
About Meizhou
Meizhou is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of 15,864.51 km2 (6,125.32 sq mi), and a population of 3,873,239 as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xingning City and five counties. Its built-up or metro area made up of two urban districts was home to 992,351 inhabitants.
Neolithic age stone tools and pottery have been discovered in dozens of places in the Meixian district of Meizhou. Ancient kiln sites from the Western Zhou dynasty and bells from the Warring States period were also found. Before the Qin dynasty, Meizhou was under Nanyue rule. After Qin unified the Nanyue, Meizhou was belonged to Nanhai Commandery.
Meizhou was historically known as Chengxiang (程鄉) and Jiaying (嘉應), and the local saying — "Before there was Meizhou, there was Jiaying; before there was Jiaying, there was Chengxiang" (未有梅州，先有嘉應；未有嘉應，先有程鄉) — summarizes the evolution of its place names.
From the Southern Qi empire through the early Republic, the region was called Chengxiang, because in the first year of Yongming (483 CE) the Southern Qi court carved out part of Haiyang County to...
Meizhou travel guide
Understand
The name Meizhou comes from the Mei River and the Chinese name for the plum blossom (梅; méi). Meizhou was established as the prefecture of Jingzhou during the Southern Han (917-971). It has a population of 4.3 million (2010), with about a million in the urban area. Because of its mountainous location, Meizhou has numerous natural scenic areas and good air quality. Many visitors come to the Yannanfei Tea Garden to climb the mountain. Hakka folk music is also a feature of the area. The songs sing of the Hakka people, their passion for their hometown, and of love.
Getting there
The main airport serving the city is 1 Meixian Airport (MXZ IATA). It is served primarily by domestic flights, with some international flights. The second closest airport is 2 Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport (SWA IATA) in Jieyang which is an hour and a half away by car, and is served by more international flights to other Asian countries. High-speed trains are available from Guangzhou, Shantou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Yichang, and Zhuhai. It is a 5 hour journey by bus from Shenzhen. Getting to the correct bus station is the problem. Nevertheless you can get buses at Zhao Por Lu (literally grassy field road, ¥30). The long distance bus from Meizhou to Hong Kong, which happens to stop at the border crossing in Shenzhen which is not that far from HK costs ¥100. The bus makes the trip in about 4 hours but with the border cross at two points each way it takes just about 6 hours on the dot. Rail is about the same but twice the price but if you get boogered sitting in the last row of the bus behind the reclining seats you will regret it. Plus there are no facilities on the bus and it only stops once on the journey.
Getting around
Many private cars with driver will approach you for inexpensive travel within Meizhou and surrounding areas. There are also three wheeled bicycles that are for hire. Usually for about ¥5-6 they will take you about two miles or so. They will try to get more so set the price beforehand. Taxis are a little bit more but not outrageous at all. Sometimes a private motorcycle will be waiting around on a street corner and they are for hire too for the adventurous. Traffic in Meizhou is a mind boggler and is just plain reckless. They will drive anywhere even the sidewalk and the wrong way on the streets and then mix the bicycles.
See
1 Jiaying University. (updated Apr 2015) 2 Hakka Land (Hakka Park Scenic Spot, 客天下景区), Dongsheng Village, Sanjiao Town, Meijiang District (梅江区三角镇东升村) (Bus Routes 4, 15, and 25), ☏ +86 753 2118888. 08:00-17:30. (updated Dec 2017) 3 Hakka Museum of China (中国客家博物馆), No. 2 Dongshan Avenue, Meijiang District (梅江区东山大道2号) (Catch bus nos. 1 or 6 and get off at Hakka Park 客家公园.), ☏ +86 753 2258830. 09:00-17:30 Tu-Su (Closed on Mondays). Free. (updated Dec 2017) 4 Lingguang Temple (灵光寺), Yinna Village, Yanyang Town, Meixian District (梅县区雁洋镇阴那村) (Catch bus nos. 17, 41 or 46 to Ye Jianying Memorial Park 剑英纪念公园, then transfer to bus no. 39 to get to the destination.), ☏ +86 753 2831180. Open 24 hours. ¥40. (updated Dec 2017) 5 Meixian District Museum (梅县区博物馆), 7 Fudong Er Lu, Xincheng, Meixian District (梅县区新城府东二路七号), ☏ +86 753 2235504. (updated Dec 2017) 6 Meizhou Confucian Temple (梅州学宫), Lingfeng Road West, Meijiang District (梅江区凌风西路). (updated Apr 2015) 7 Temple of the Thousand Buddha Pagoda (千佛塔寺; Qianfotasi), Lianhua Hill Summit, Dongyan, Jinshan Sub-District, Meijiang District (梅江区金山街道东岩莲花山顶) (Bus routes 12, 13, 16, and 20), ☏ +86 753 2290362, [email protected]. 07:00-18:00. Free. (updated Dec 2017) 8 Yannanfei Tea Garden (Yearning Tea Plantation, 雁南飞茶田), Yanyang Town, Meixian District (梅县区雁洋镇) (Catch bus no. 17 from the bus stop at the Jiaying University West Gate 嘉大西校门. The bus terminates just outside the Yannanfei Tea Garden.), ☏ +86 753 2828888, [email protected]. ¥80 for adults, ¥0-50 for children depending on height. (updated Dec 2017) 9 Longguizhai Waterfall (龙归寨瀑布 Lóngguīzhài Pùbù), Tangkeng Town, Fengshun County 丰顺县汤坑镇. A roaring waterfall in rural Meizhou. ¥50. (updated Oct 2019)
Eat
During the period after August or September, a sea of pomelos can be seen, especially in village orchards. Salt baked chicken (盐焗鸡) is one of the most well-known Hakka dishes, which can also be bought in many other cities in China. Another local dish is Yong tau foo (酿豆腐), tofu stuffed with meat, of which it is said that when Hakka people first came to the south, there was no wheat flour to make dumplings so they used tofu instead. They put meat and some other ingredients into the tofu to create a special taste. This recipe was handed down and became a feature of Hakka cuisine. Pickled mustard greens with pork (梅菜扣肉) is a delicious local dish—try to get some meat and some greens together in each bite. Other foods including preserved pork and ginger candies are also popular locally. This is Hakka country and generally speaking the bill of fare for the general public is rice, with noodles and congee popular too, especially for breakfast. In Meixian the typical breakfast is yammien (腌面, yānmiàn), a bowl of noodles served with a bowl of goji leaf and pork soup. The food tends to be a bit bland and stodgy. There aren't many egg rolls per se, but try fugien (腐卷, fǔjuǎn), tofu skin rolls stuffed with meat. There is dim sum to a point. As for eating street food, no stomach issues so be a little adventurous. The bigger and better restaurants and hotels have a wider spectrum. Tofu from street vendors is quite good and sort of a distant cousin to scrambled eggs. There are plenty of places doing rice instead of noodles and although that is not much of a stretch it does help when you are noodled out. Fried rice is not the norm, usually it is a bowl of white rice with bowls of other stuff. Some of it, as at the Happy Restaurant on Ding Min Lu is quite tasty although the place looks like a warehouse instead of an eatery. The pork stuffed tofu is quite good but the pigs legs are not for the faint of heart.
Drink & nightlife
Meizhou Hakka Tea(梅州客家茶)Usually based on Oolong tea or green tea. Hakka Plum Soup（客家梅子汤）It is a refreshing beverage made primarily from locally produced plums. Beef Offal Rice Cake Soup（牛杂粿汁）Guo zhi is a paste made from rice slurry, paired with the internal organs of beef, and seasoned with condiments.
Sleep
1 Puxing Youth Hostel (朴行青年旅舍), 17 Meixing Road, Jiangbei, Meijiang District (梅江区江北梅兴路17号), ☏ +86 15602781029. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. ¥55 for a dorm bed, ¥81–130 for a room. (updated Jan 2018) 2 Howard Johnson Changsheng Plaza Meizhou (梅州昌盛豪生大酒店), 8 Fuqian Avenue, Meixian District (梅县区区府前大道8号), ☏ +86 753 8666666. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. From ¥448. (updated Jan 2018)
Go next
To the UNESCO Heritage sites of the Tulous near Yongding, Fujian Province. Also a transit point to Dabu, another Hakka area from where it's a hop to Yongding (by bus ¥35), then a local bus ¥11 to Hukeng Town (or if you miss the late afternoon bus, by taxi ¥100), the heart of the Tulou trails.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.