Brief introduction of Songkou ancient town

Songkou ancient town is introduced as follows:

Songkou Town, which belongs to Meixian District, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, is located at the junction of Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, in the northeast of Meixian District. The town government is located in Sikeng New District, Songkou, 48. 1 km away from Meixian District People's Government.

It is adjacent to Qingxi Town in dapu county in the east, Songshan Town in Baidu Town in the west, Yangyan Town in Yingya and Meixian District in dapu county in the south, and Yao Tao Town and Longwen Town in the north, with a total area of 328.4 square kilometers. By the end of 20 18, the registered population of Songkou Town was 648 1 1. As of June 2020, Songkou Town has 4 1 administrative villages and 5 communities under its jurisdiction.

Songkou Town is the first stop for Hakkas from Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi in modern times to go to Nanyang. It is also the first stop for China Hakkas to emigrate and explore the "Indian Ocean Road". It has the only "China (Meizhou) Immigrants Memorial Square" in Chinese mainland and is one of the four ancient towns in Lingnan. It is an ancient town with a history of 1200 years and rich historical and cultural relics.

Songkou Town is known as the hometown of culture, folk songs and overseas Chinese. In 20 12, Songkou Town was designated as "China Immigrants Memorial Site" by UNESCO. In 20 14, Songkou Town was awarded the title of "China Famous Historical and Cultural Town" and "National Key Town".

On 20 15, songkou town was awarded "China overseas Chinese international cultural exchange base"; In 20 17, Songkou Town was awarded the title of "Guangdong Top Ten Maritime Silk Road Cultural Geographical Coordinates"; On 20 18, Songkou Town was awarded as "Top Ten Ancient Villages and Towns in Guangdong Most Favored by Netizens".

The History and Culture of Songkou Ancient Town

Hakka town 1

Songkou Town is an important town of Hakka, one of the birthplaces of Hakka ancestors' southward migration, the first stop for Hakka people from Guangdong, Fujian and Jiangxi to go to Nanyang in modern times, the first stop for Hakka immigrants from China to explore the Indian Ocean, and the only "China (Meizhou) Immigrants Memorial Square" in Chinese mainland.

Since the Song Dynasty, the ancestors of Songkou have moved here from Fujian and Jiangxi, and developed into a commercial distribution center in Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi. Songkou is the first stop for Hakka people from Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi to leave Nanyang in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. In 1950s, Meixian established Songkou Port Office in Songkou to carry out port construction.

At that time, it was the main inland port of Guangdong Province, with developed water transport and active trade and logistics. At that time, most Hakkas in eastern Guangdong, western Fujian and southern Jiangxi used Songkou as a transit point.

2. Business and Trade Center

As an important commercial town, Songkou Town enjoys convenient land and water transportation. Geographically, Songkou Town is located at the junction of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces, with western Fujian in the northeast and Chaoshan in the southeast, which is the distribution center of surrounding towns and villages.

"Watching Qian Fan every day, watching thousands of lights at night" is a true description of the bustling scene at that time. According to historical records, in the heyday of commerce, there were more than 1000 shops in Songkou, while in the heyday of the wharf, more than 300 ships docked here and more than 6,000 passengers set off from here.

3. Overseas China culture

In the early Song Dynasty, especially in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, Songkou became an important post for overseas migration of Hakka people in Meizhou and even in Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi, the origin of the "Maritime Silk Road" for overseas Hakka people and the first port of the "Indian Ocean Road" for Hakka people.

Historically, villagers in Songkou were directly transported to Songkou for postal, navigation and trade with overseas countries without going through Jiaying Prefecture (now Meizhou) or Shantou Port. Because it is more prosperous than the city, there is a saying that "let go and deny the state."

Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Songkou Town