Two-Day Tour of Chaoshan

📍 Highlights: Chaoshan cuisine, ancient city culture, intangible cultural heritage experience, island scenery
👫 Suitable for: Foodies, culture enthusiasts, photography lovers
💰 Budget allocation:

Transportation: 1500 RMB (round-trip high-speed train/airfare + local taxi/car rental)
Accommodation: 800 RMB (Chaozhou ancient city boutique guesthouse/Shantou sea view hotel)
Meals: 1500 RMB (beef hotpot, rice noodles, raw marinated dishes, night porridge)
Tickets & experiences: 500 RMB (attraction tickets, handicraft experience)
Others: 700 RMB (souvenirs, snacks)

📅 Itinerary
Day 1: Chaozhou Ancient City & Paifang Street Food
🚄 Morning: Arrive in Chaozhou

Take the high-speed train to Chaoshan Station, then a 30-minute taxi to Chaozhou Ancient City
Check in at an ancient city guesthouse (recommended: Kapok Mansion, Zaiyang Inn)

🍜 Noon: Must-try Chaozhou cuisine

Recommended restaurants:

Guantang Brothers Beef Hotpot (freshly sliced beef + satay sauce)
Zhenji Old Tail Beef Offal (beef offal rice noodles)
Hu Rongquan (duck meatballs, spring rolls)

🏯 Afternoon: Stroll around Chaozhou Ancient City

Guangji Bridge (one of China’s four ancient bridges, 20 RMB ticket)
Paifang Street (23 Ming and Qing dynasty paifangs, perfect for photos)
Kaiyuan Temple (thousand-year-old temple, free admission)
Hand-pulled teapot experience (Chaozhou intangible cultural heritage, about 100 RMB/person)

🌙 Evening: Night tour of the ancient city & Chaozhou night porridge

Guangji Bridge light show (starts at 8:00 PM)
Recommended late-night snack: plain porridge with raw marinated dishes (round egg wine sauce, Guantang fresh fish sashimi)

Day 2: Shantou Nan'ao Island & Xiaogongyuan Arcade Buildings
🚗 Morning: Chaozhou → Shantou Nan'ao Island (1.5-hour self-drive/car hire)

Rent a car or hire a car to Nan'ao Island (bridge toll 96 RMB)
Visit Changshanwei Lighthouse, Qian'ao Bay Lighthouse, Qing'ao Bay Beach

🦞 Noon: Seafood feast on Nan'ao Island

Recommended: Sister Xu’s dishes (seaweed fried rice, steamed fresh oysters)

📸 Afternoon: Shantou Xiaogongyuan Arcade Buildings

Return to Shantou city center, stroll around Xiaogongyuan Arcade Buildings (retro Nanyang style)
Visit Shantou Hostel (popular photo spot with the "Shantou" characters)
Try Guangchang Old Brand tofu pudding sweet soup, Laoma Gong rice dumplings

✈️ Evening: Return trip

Depart from Chaoshan Airport or Shantou Station

💡 Travel Tips
✔ Transportation: The three Chaoshan cities (Chaozhou, Shantou, Jieyang) are close; renting or hiring a car is more convenient
✔ Food highlights: beef hotpot, raw marinated dishes, rice noodles, oyster omelet, licorice fruit
✔ Accommodation suggestions: stay in the ancient city in Chaozhou, stay near MixC or sea view rooms on Nan'ao Island in Shantou
✔ Must-buy souvenirs: Chaozhou’s three treasures (old medicinal tangerine peel, huangpi fermented soybeans, old fragrant yellow), Shantou beef balls
💰 Budget flexibility:

To save money, reduce handicraft experiences and choose budget accommodations
To eat better, increase the meal budget (Chaoshan food is truly delicious!)

🍲 Two days and one night is never enough to eat! Bring a 256GB stomach, Chaoshan cuisine will definitely leave you craving more! 😋