[2024 Meizhou Attraction] Travel Guide for Songkou Ancient Town (Updated Oct)

This is a place of prosperity in commercial trade in history. It is a major commercial and trade town. It has the reputation of not recognizing the state since ancient times. It is the first stop of the Hakka people from Nanyang after the end of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also one of the sources of Sun Yat-sens launch of the Revolution of 1911. Hakka folk songs are more famous at home and abroad, and cultural relics and natural scenery abound. Songkou, a thousand-year-old town in Meizhou, is one of the starting places for the Hakka ancestors to move to Guangdong. sells the most expensive cakes in the old days. I think that when the Hakka ancestors started from here, would they also bring a few stoves for dry food? The is one of the must-see places in Songkou Ancient Town. It is still a hundred years old. In the old days, people from Jiangxi, Fujian, Jiaoling and Pingyuan took Nanyang from the Songkou Fireboat Terminal to take the electric wheel. From Shantou Port to the big wheel, it became the first stop for the Hakka people to cross the sea and die. It is said that at the time of the most prosperous fireboat terminal, there are more than 300 vessels coming and going every day, and more than 6,000 passengers come in and out from here. When you come to the ancient villages of Meizhou, someone will ask you to taste their fairy tales. It is a bit like turtle paste or jelly powder, but it is not. This taste is still a little different, but the effect should be cool and cool.

Songkou - Memories of the South Seas.

Songkou Ancient Town, a microcosm of the Guangdong-Fujian era in the South Seas, with mottled buildings, all memories of history. Yuan Kui Tower, built by Li Shichun, a Ming Dynasty scholar in Lingnan during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, has been around for nearly 400 years and is also the former site of the Songkou Anti-Japanese Salvation Society. The corridor is narrow and the light is dim, and only one person can pass through. This is also the lighthouse for the return of the South Seas wanderers, a signpost. Songjiang Hotel, Fireboat Wharf, Meidong Bridge, etc., all have a strong sense of the times.

Meizhou Ancient Town, Relive the South Seas Dream

Meizhou Ancient Town, Relive the South Seas Dream 📍Songkou Ancient Town, located in Songkou Town, Meixian District, Meizhou City, was the first stop for Hakka people to travel to the South Seas after the end of the Ming Dynasty. It was also one of the important starting points of the Maritime Silk Road in China and is known as one of the "Four Ancient Towns of Lingnan". Songkou Ancient Town was also a major commercial town in history, with the reputation of "Never Recognizing the Prefecture". Despite the vicissitudes of life, people can still glimpse the ancient style of the town. 🏚️The ancient town's gray-brown riverside houses are lined up, and the more than 400 shops along the river form a winding and undulating outline of the ancient town. The gray plaster arcades with a South Seas style are even more distinctive. The upper floors and lower corridors not only provide shelter from the sun and rain but also serve as both commercial and residential spaces. The crisscrossing old streets reveal a unique overseas Chinese style amidst the vicissitudes of life. 🚢 Fireboat Wharf It was the first stop for Hakka people to travel to the South Seas. People took boats from here to Shantou, transferred to ocean-going ships, and sailed across the ocean to the South Seas to make a living. The Songjiang Grand Hotel in front of the river and the bronze sculptures on the shore all tell the stories of the past. "A river flows eastward, sending my husband to the fireboat wharf." The fireboat on the shore blows its whistle and sets sail, carrying the dreams of young people. Hakka people also set out from here to the world. 🏨 Songjiang Grand Hotel Located on Songkou Ancient Street, opposite the Fireboat Wharf, it witnessed the prosperity and decline of Songkou. At present, the Songjiang Grand Hotel is no longer used for its original purpose and has been transformed into an Overseas Chinese History and Culture Museum. It exhibits thousands of exhibits, including overseas Chinese letters, furniture brought back by overseas Chinese from foreign countries, daily necessities, and handicrafts. It has become a window for people to understand the customs of Meizhou overseas Chinese a hundred years ago.

Meizhou｜A Lesser-Known Ancient Village with Historical and Cultural Heritage｜Songkou Ancient Town

Let's explore the world-class scenery of Meizhou and visit the hometown of Olympic champion Chen Qingchen, Songkou Ancient Town. Meizhou's Songkou Ancient Town is one of the 'Four Great Ancient Towns of Lingnan,' located in Meixian District, Meizhou City. It is an ancient town with a thousand-year history; its streets and buildings are rich in historical and cultural heritage, preserving abundant historical and cultural relics, along with beautiful natural scenery and unique Hakka culture. In the ancient town, you can admire ancient buildings and traditional residences from the Ming and Qing dynasties, or appreciate exquisite wood carvings, stone carvings, and Western-style buildings with Nanyang characteristics. You can also learn about Hakka culture, taste local delicacies, or buy local specialty handicrafts and souvenirs, such as Hakka embroidery, wood carving artworks, and traditional Hakka clothing. Highly Recommended: Songkou Library, Cultural Square, and Museum; these attractions not only showcase the historical and cultural heritage of Songkou Ancient Town but also provide a deeper understanding of the life and culture of the Hakka people, offering a full experience. Food Recommendations: Fuxing Pavilion Cuisine, Meicai Kourou (braised pork with preserved vegetables), stuffed tofu, and white-cut chicken. Accommodation Recommendations: Meizhou Waipojia·Renshouzhuang Weilong House Homestay. Coordinates: About 250 meters southwest of Songkou Town Experimental Primary School, Xincheng Road, Meixian District, Meizhou City. Transportation: Self-driving or local guide self-driving tours, with convenient and quick parking.

Songkou Ancient Town | Revisiting a forgotten history of Nanyang wandering

If you travel to Meizhou, you might visit Hakka small towns and Huage Tower, but if you miss Songkou Ancient Town, you might leave with a hint of regret. It's not that Songkou Ancient Town has something in particular, on the contrary, it might show you its solitude and dilapidation, but it indeed carries the history of Hakka descendants wandering in Nanyang, being one of the four great ancient towns of Lingnan with a history of over 1200 years. 🚄 Departing from Guangzhou, it takes 3-4 hours by high-speed train/DMU to reach Meizhou, then take a taxi or bus directly to the ancient town 📷 It takes half a day to a full day to tour, but it's not suitable for a cursory visit. You can learn about the history of Songkou Ancient Town, which will enhance your trip. Btw, the arcade alleys are very photogenic 🍲 The fried meatballs are fantastic, the Qi Lu Bing is surprisingly delicious, the stir-fried fish San Fen is also recommended, and there are some Nanyang-style snacks that you can enjoy while strolling around

Travel guide to Songkou Ancient Town in Meizhou

If you come to Guangdong for a visit, why not take a walk in Songkou Ancient Town in Meizhou, the hometown of Hakka (Meixian District, Meizhou City) Upon arriving at the east end of Meidong Bridge, looking at the opposite bank's fireboat dock, Songjiang Hotel and Prosperity Road, this bridge of over 70 years seems to link the modern and the past nearly a hundred years; Step into the archive of time, listen to the history of Songkou people In the 1860s, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement was defeated in Meizhou, and many Songkou people in the Taiping Army fled to Nanyang. The road to Nanyang was long, and the Hakka emigrants had to bring a snack called 'Qi Lu Bing'. The Yuan Kui Tower also became the tower of homesickness for the emigrants when they returned home In the 1930s, the Songkou fireboat dock was opened, with up to 300 boats moored at most. Looking up, you can see the well-preserved 'Songjiang Hotel'. The street where the hotel is located was built in the late Ming Dynasty and is called 'Prosperity Road'. More than 800 arcade houses were built on both sides of Prosperity Road, and more than 400 were built along the Meijiang River On the overseas letters of Songkou people, as long as it is written 'China Shantou Songkou transfer to a certain village and a certain person', it can be directly transferred to Songkou via Shantou Port, hence the saying 'Songkou has never recognized (Jiaying) Prefecture since ancient times' If you love exploring history and are willing to listen to stories with your heart, you will not be disappointed with the fireboat dock, Songjiang Hotel, Prosperity Road, etc. in Songkou Ancient Town

On the wide Meijiang River in Meizhou, there is a long white bridge - Meidong Bridge. Standing on the bridge, you can see a town located in the lower reaches of the Meijiang River. This is the ancient town of Songkou, a famous Lingnan town full of southern colors. Into the ancient town, a kind of nostalgic wind blowing, the blue-gray stone street, the streets are high-rise houses, whether it is the moss of the corner, the fallen wall, or the winding wires, All give people an intuitive feeling of "old age." The passers-by who walked slowly on the street, the old man who sat at the door of the house, felt the stability of the ancient town of Songkou after the precipitation of the years. Since the ancient town of Songkou is located at the junction of the three provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Fujian, the Meijiang River passes through it. Therefore, since ancient times, the water and land transportation of Songkou Ancient Town has been very convenient. It is for this reason that Songkou Ancient Town was also a Hakka out of Nanyang. Departure station. At that time, the Songkou trade boom, and very early, there were "foreign goods" and "foreign buildings." In the ancient town of Songkou, you can still see these Chinese-Western architecture, although it is no longer glamorous, but it has a charm. This pier in the ancient town is the most highlight of Songkous commercial development. On the stairs, there are also many bronze statues. The Hakkas used the dock to move cargo through the docks. The scene shows the spirit of hard work and solidarity of the Hakka people.