Shantou

Shantou (), alternately romanized as Swatow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, China. In 2020, 5,502,031 people lived there. Its area is 2,248 km. Shantou was one of the original special economic zones of China created in the 1980s, but unlike other cities such as Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhuhai. It is home to the Shantou University. Shantou is the economic and cultural center of Guangdong Province.

 History 
Shantou was a fishing village part of Tuojiang Du (), Jieyang County during the Song dynasty. The village was called Xialing (), during the Yuan dynasty. In 1563, Shantou became a part of Chenghai County in Chao Prefecture (Chaozhou). In 1574, it was renamed Shashanping (). In the 17th century, a cannon platform called Shashantou Cannon () was made here. Later, the place name was shortened to "Shantou".

Shantou became a city in 1919 and was separated from Chenghai District in 1921.

 Administrative divisions 
Shantou is divided into 6 districts, 1 county-level cities and 1 county.
 Shantou City (汕头市)
 Longhu District (龙湖区)
 Jinping District (金平区)
 Haojiang District (濠江区)
 Chaoyang District (潮阳区)
 Chaonan District (潮南区)
 Chenghai District (澄海区)
 Nan'ao County (南澳县)

 Other websites 

 Official government website 
 Official government website 
 Shantou Daily

Category:Cities in China
Category:Guangdong