3 Days Guangdong Chaoshan Culture Tour with Shantou Nan’ao Island and Chaozhou

After breakfast at the hotel, meet your guide and depart for Mayu Island, a small historic island located in Shantou’s inner bay. The Shantou Bay Bridge passes over the island, creating a distinctive setting where traditional fishing life, temples, coastal scenery, and modern infrastructure come together.

Once used as an important coastal-defense outpost, Mayu Island was opened to visitors in 1979. Walk through its coastal paths and village spaces, where fishing boats, wooden walkways, colorful wall paintings, sea-view platforms, and religious landmarks reflect the island’s maritime heritage.

Important sites include the Old Mazu Temple, New Mazu Temple, Donghai Putuo Mountain Temple, Sea Dragon King Temple, Sea Goddess Statue, Mazu Seal Rock, Sea-Viewing Pavilion, Shuangzhong Temple, Bogong Temple, Friendship Pavilion, and nearby Luyu Lighthouse.

Continue toward Nan’ao Island, Guangdong’s only island county, by crossing the impressive Nan’ao Bridge. The approximately 11-kilometer-long bridge offers broad views of the South China Sea, coastal hills, fishing boats, and offshore islands.

Enjoy an included Nan’ao seafood lunch, prepared with fresh seasonal marine ingredients such as fish, shrimp, shellfish, oysters, squid, and seaweed.

After lunch, join a marine fishing and aquaculture experience. Board a local boat and travel through offshore oyster-farming areas, where brightly colored floating buoys spread across the blue sea. Learn about oyster cultivation, ecological sea farming, and the daily work of local fishing communities.

Depending on weather, tide levels, and safety conditions, guests may observe or participate in a simple oyster-harvesting activity. This hands-on experience provides a closer look at how seafood is cultivated and brought from the ocean to the dining table.

Continue through the Nan’ao Island Ecological Tourism Area, characterized by rocky shores, clear air, coastal hills, sea breezes, and subtropical vegetation. Stop at Changshanwei Lighthouse, a striking red lighthouse near the entrance to the island and one of the best locations for viewing Nan’ao Bridge.

Drive along Nan’ao’s scenic coastal road and enjoy views of offshore fishing villages, marine farms, the island waterfront, and the distant wind turbines of Windmill Mountain.

Visit the Natural Gate, Nan’ao Island’s famous Tropic of Cancer landmark. Located beside Qing’ao Bay, the structure combines astronomical, geographical, and natural concepts and marks the point where the Tropic of Cancer meets the eastern coastline of mainland China.

Finish the day at Qing’ao Bay, one of Nan’ao Island’s most beautiful beaches. Its crescent-shaped shoreline, fine sand, clear water, coastal forest, and gentle sea breeze create a relaxing island atmosphere. Enjoy free time to walk along the beach, take photographs, collect shells, or relax beside the sea when conditions permit.

Return to Shantou in the late afternoon and enjoy dinner independently.

Meals: Hotel breakfast and Nan’ao seafood lunch included; dinner not included
Accommodation: Shantou city hotel

After breakfast at the hotel, check out and depart for Longhu Ancient Village, a historic settlement famous for its traditional layout of three main streets and six lanes.

More than one hundred ancestral halls, official residences, merchant mansions, academies, and temples are preserved throughout the village. Notable buildings include Fangbo Mansion, Jinshi Mansion, Tanhua Mansion, Xiuyi Mansion, Xu Clan Ancestral Hall, Longhu Academy, the Former Residence of Xia Yulai, and Tianhou Temple.

During the visit, admire traditional Chaozhou crafts such as woodcarving, stone carving, shell carving, ceramic inlay, painted decoration, and lime sculpture. The village preserves architectural features from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties and is often described as a museum of traditional mansion culture.

Continue to Chaozhou, a National Famous Historical and Cultural City. Visit the Han Yu Memorial Temple, built in memory of the renowned Tang Dynasty scholar and official Han Yu. Although he served in Chaozhou for less than eight months, he is remembered for promoting education, improving local administration, releasing bonded servants, and dealing with crocodiles that threatened residents along the river.

Proceed to the Han River for an exterior view of Guangji Bridge, also known as Xiangzi Bridge. Famous for its stone piers, traditional pavilions, and movable pontoon section, the bridge is traditionally described as having “eighteen floating boats and twenty-four bridge piers.” Walking onto the bridge is optional and requires a separate entrance ticket.

Enjoy lunch featuring authentic Chaoshan beef hotpot. Fresh beef is carefully divided into different cuts and quickly cooked in a light broth to preserve its tenderness and natural flavor.

After lunch, walk along the Chaozhou Riverside Promenade, a landscaped route beside the Han River. Enjoy views of Guangji Bridge, Han Yu Memorial Temple, Phoenix Pagoda, Guangji Gate Tower, the ancient city wall, historic temples, riverside gardens, and surrounding hills.

Continue to Guangji Gate Tower, one of Chaozhou Ancient City’s most recognizable landmarks, before entering Paifang Street. This historic pedestrian street is lined with memorial archways, traditional shops, local snack stalls, tea stores, embroidery workshops, woodcarving boutiques, and regional specialty stores.

Explore nearby Jiadi Lane, where traditional mansions preserve classic Chaoshan residential layouts such as Four-Point Gold houses, Si Ma Tuo Che compounds, and Hundred Birds Facing the Phoenix courtyards.

Visit Kaiyuan Temple, one of the most important Buddhist temples in eastern Guangdong. Originally founded during the Tang Dynasty, the temple features grand halls, ceremonial courtyards, Buddhist statues, incense burners, carved beams, decorative roofs, and a solemn religious atmosphere.

Later, enjoy a complimentary Chaoshan Gongfu Tea and Chaozhou Opera experience in a century-old residence. Learn about traditional tea-brewing customs while discovering Chaozhou Opera, a regional theatrical tradition performed in the Chaoshan dialect and shaped by more than four centuries of history.

Depending on the schedule, guests may independently visit additional attractions such as Jilue Huanggong Ancestral Hall, Xu Imperial Son-in-Law Mansion, Haiyang Confucian Temple, or the Jao Tsung-I Academic Museum.

At the designated time, meet your guide and transfer to Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport, Chaoshan Railway Station, or another confirmed departure point, bringing the three-day Chaoshan journey to an end.

Meals: Hotel breakfast and Chaoshan beef hotpot lunch included; dinner not included
Accommodation: Tour ends

Please note: The visiting order may be adjusted according to traffic, weather, tide levels, sea conditions, attraction opening hours, and local operating arrangements. Admission to Guangji Bridge, scenic-area transportation, ancient-city headsets, and personal expenses are not included unless otherwise confirmed.