2-Day Chaoshan Food and Kungfu Tea Tour from Shantou

Chaoshan is the food capital most Western travelers have never heard of. Tucked into the eastern corner of Guangdong, the cities of Chaozhou and Shantou share a single Hokkien-adjacent dialect, a single cuisine, and a single obsession: cold-cut goose, beef-ball hotpot, oyster omelets, marinated raw shrimp, and above all gongfu cha — the original tiny-cup tea ceremony that every other Chinese tea culture borrowed from. This two-day tour is built around eating and drinking with locals.

You start in Shantou — once a 19th-century treaty port — and head 40 minutes inland to Chaozhou old town, a remarkably intact walled city of Ming-Qing alleys, a Song-dynasty bridge, and family-run tea shops where the same Phoenix-mountain oolongs have been roasted for generations. Day two stays in Shantou for a deep dive into night-market food culture and a slow gongfu tea session with a local tea master. Your English-speaking guide handles all the ordering — Chaoshan menus rarely have pictures and almost never have English.

Day 1 — Chaozhou old town and gongfu tea:

• 08:30 — Pickup from your Shantou hotel
• 09:30 — Arrive Chaozhou; walk the old town wall and Paifang street of memorial arches
• 11:00 — Visit a working family tea shop; learn the gongfu tea steps (rinse, fragrance cup, three pours)
• 12:30 — Chaozhou lunch: beef-ball noodles, oyster omelet, marinated goose
• 14:30 — Cross the Song-dynasty Guangji Bridge and wander Paifang Street
• 17:00 — Check into your Chaozhou or Shantou hotel
• 19:00 — Evening street-food walk with your guide

Day 2 — Shantou old port and night market:

• 09:00 — Breakfast: rice porridge with twenty side dishes (a Chaoshan ritual)
• 10:00 — Walk Shantou's old colonial-era port quarter — arcaded shophouses, faded ad murals
• 12:00 — Seafood lunch at a local restaurant
• 14:00 — Long gongfu tea session with a tea master; tasting four Phoenix Dancong oolongs
• 16:00 — Drop-off at Shantou hotel, station, or airport

Who this is for: Serious eaters, tea drinkers, travelers looking for a regional Chinese cuisine that hasn't been over-tourist-ed, anyone who wants to slow down for two days in southern Guangdong.

Logistics: One night of mid-range hotel (3–4 star), all listed meals, all entrance tickets, private vehicle with driver, and English-speaking guide included. Itinerary can be reversed if you arrive into Chaoshan airport (SWA) rather than Shantou city.

Local Roads. Global Eyes. We're a Beijing-licensed inbound operator with Chaoshan-native guides who can read the menu boards. Questions before you book? WhatsApp +86 139 1764 3020 or liuwen@nebulatrip.com.

Two days through Chaozhou and Shantou eating Chaoshan cuisine and learning the original tiny-cup gongfu tea ceremony. English-speaking guide, private vehicle.