Jieyang (; Chaozhou dialect: gig4 iên5; Jieyang dialect: gêg4 ion5) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose people speak Chaoshan Min distinct from neighbouring Yue speakers. It is historically important as the hometown of many overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. It borders Shantou to the east, Chaozhou to the northeast, Meizhou to the north, Shanwei to the west, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south.

Etymology

The name Jieyang can be traced back to the 33rd year of Qin Shi Huang (214 BC) when the emperor set up a garrison on the south side of Jieling (揭嶺之陽). In Chinese fengshui, facing south means "yang" (陽), which is propitious. Jieling means Mount Jie, so is the name Jieyang (揭陽).

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Jieyang administers five county-level divisions, including two districts, one county-level city (administered on behalf of the province) and two counties.

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"

!colspan="6"| Map

|-

|colspan="6"| <div class="center" style="position: relative">

</div>

|-

! Name

! Simplified Chinese

! Hanyu Pinyin

! Population<br/>

! Area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)

! Density<br/>(/km<sup>2</sup>)

|-

|Rongcheng District

|

|Róngchéng Qū

|537,212

|182

|4,098

|-

|Jiedong District

|

|Jiēdōng Qū

|931,719

|850

|1,362

|-

|Jiexi County

|

|Jiēxī Xiàn

|674,829

|1,279

|605

|-

|Huilai County

|

|Huìlái Xiàn

|1,040,779

|1,207

|906

|-

|Puning

|

|Pǔníng Shì

|1,998,619

|1,620

|1,291

|}

These are further divided into 100 township-level divisions, including 69 towns, 10 townships and 21 subdistricts.

Economy

  • Traditional manufacturing industry - hardware and stainless steel, textiles and clothing (Puning underwear), and shoemaking.
  • Medicine and Chinese herbal medicines - Puning is an important distribution center for Chinese herbal medicines in the country.
  • Petrochemical energy - Huilai Da Nanhai Petrochemical Industrial Zone (oil refining, ethylene) and offshore wind power.
  • Commerce and e-commerce - Puning clothing and Chinese herbal medicine wholesale market, e-commerce drives clothing sales.
  • Agriculture and food processing - specialty agricultural products such as lychees, tea, and preserved fruits.

Transport

Air

The new Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport is the third largest airport complex in Guangdong Province, after Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, and Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. It replaced the Shantou Waisha Airport on 15 November 2011.

Rail

Jieyang is located on the Guangzhou–Meizhou–Shantou Railway.

Language and culture

The Chaoshan Min is predominantly spoken in this region. The Hakka dialect, however, has its limited presence among Hakka people in Jiexi County, Northwestern Jiedong District, Nanyang Mountain Area of Puning, and a small part of Huilai County.

The Chaoshan dialect (), a major branch of Southern Min, is widely regarded as one of the most conservative Sinitic varieties. It preserves phonological and lexical features traceable to earlier stages of Chinese that have disappeared from many other modern dialects, which is why local speakers often describe it as one of China's oldest living dialects. Today, Chaoshan speech is used by roughly 15 million people in the Chaoshan region and an additional two to five million in overseas communities. Within this larger linguistic sphere, the Jieyang dialect stands out as an important branch, classified under the Rongjiang sub‑dialect of Chaoshan Minnan. Jieyang retains all eight traditional tones—level, rising, departing, and entering, each with distinct yin and yang registers—and its tonal contours differ subtly from those of Chaozhou and Shantou, giving it a character often described as more vigorous or clear. It preserves the entering tone particularly well, maintaining the final stop consonants ‑p, ‑t, and ‑k, which lends a classical resonance when reciting older verse. Like other Chaoshan varieties, Jieyang also maintains a rich system of literary and colloquial readings, allowing many characters to have distinct pronunciations in formal and everyday contexts.

Hakka constitutes the second‑largest dialect group in Jieyang, primarily distributed in the city's northwestern borderlands adjoining Meizhou and in the mid‑hill rural districts of Puning, Huilai, and Jiedong, representing approximately 14.4% of the total population. The Hakka population in the Chaoshan region largely descends from Ming‑period migrants originating from Meixian, Xingning, and adjacent areas. Centuries of sociocultural interaction, economic exchange, and intermarriage have led to sustained linguistic contact and mutual influence. Consequently, the speech of certain Hakka‑speaking villages has undergone partial Teochew‑ization, giving rise to a variety known as "half‑mountain Hakka" (半山客), which diverges in notable ways from the Meizhou Hakka standard.

History

Ancient times

Jieyang has a long history. More than 10,000 years ago, early inhabitants were already living in this region. By around 4,000 years ago, during the Hutoupu Culture period (虎頭埔文化), kiln‑firing techniques had already emerged. The Hutoupu Culture, in the late Neolithic period, is an important archaeological culture whose site is located in Mianyuan Village, Guangtai Town, Puning City, Guangdong Province. Represented by the ancient Hutoupu kiln site, it is the earliest and largest kiln‑site complex discovered in Guangdong to date. Its pottery is primarily gray, fine‑clay ware, characterized by tall necks, bulging bellies, ring bases, and short ring‑feet, demonstrating the presence of early, mature ceramic‑kiln technology.

Jieyang, a historically significant city in Guangdong Province, China, has a history spanning over 2,200 years. It is considered one of the earliest administrative centres in the region and a cradle of Chaoshan culture. It is named after Jieyang Ridge (揭陽嶺), one of the ancient Five Ridges. It derives its name from the Jieyang Garrison established in 214 BC during the Qin Dynasty, named for its location on the sunny side of Jieyang Ridge (揭嶺之陽). It is known as the "Ancient City of Eastern Guangdong" (粵東古邑). As one of the birthplaces of Chaoshan culture, it has undergone development from a county seat during the Han Dynasty to Yi'an Prefecture (義安郡) during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and was rebuilt as a county seat during the Song Dynasty. It is renowned for its Chaoshan culture, jade, and its overseas Chinese community.

During the Shang dynasty, this region formed part of the southern frontier (南交之地). In the Western Zhou period, it belonged to the jurisdiction of Yangzhou (揚州之域). Throughout the Spring and Autumn and Warring States eras, it was considered part of the Baiyue cultural sphere (百越), and the ancestors of the Teochew people were among the ancient Minyue groups (古閩越族). After Qin Shihuang unified the Yue territories, he established the Jieyang Garrison Area (揭陽戍守區) in 214 BC, during the 33rd year of his reign, placing it under the administration of Nanhai Commandery (南海郡). In 111 BC, the sixth year of Emperor Wu of Han’s Yuanding era, Jieyang County (揭陽縣) was formally established. Its jurisdiction encompassed what is now the Chaoshan region, Meizhou, and the Longxi (龍溪) and Zhangpu (漳浦) areas of southern Fujian. In 331 AD, the sixth year of Emperor Cheng of the Eastern Jin dynasty, Jieyang County was divided into four counties: Haiyang (海陽), Chaoyang (潮陽), Haining (海寧), and Suian (綏安). Over the centuries, the county was repeatedly abolished and reinstated. In 1140 AD, the tenth year of the Shaoxing reign of the Song dynasty, Jieyang County was re-established once again.

People's Republic of China

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Jieyang County was successively under the jurisdiction of Chaoshan Special District, Eastern Guangdong Administrative District, Shantou Special District, and Shantou City. In July 1965, Jieyang County separated the communes of Hepo (河婆), Liangtian (良田), Pingshang (坪上), Longtan (龍潭) Huizhai (灰寨), Fengjiang (鳳江), Dongyuan (東園), Wujingfu (五經富), Jingxiyuan (京溪園), Qiankeng (錢坑), Jinhe (金和), Tatou (塔頭公社), and the town of Mianhu (棉湖鎮). Lufeng County separated the communes of Shangsha (上砂) and Wuyun (五雲) to establish Jiexi County (揭西縣). Before the establishment of Meizhou City (梅州市) in July 1983, eight communes, including Tangkeng (湯坑), Baxiang (八鄉), Fengliang (豐良), and Pantian (潘田), from the northern Hakka-speaking area of Jieyang County were incorporated into Fengshun County (豐順縣). Thirteen communes from the western Hakka-speaking area were established as Jiexi County. Thus, Jieyang County was split into three counties.

Climate

Places of interest

  • Jieyang Confucius temple (揭阳孔庙): built in 1140 (Southern Song Dynasty); one of the national priority protected sites
  • Jieyang Guandi Temple: built in 1558 (Ming Dynasty); one of the national priority protected sites
  • Former Residence of Ding Richang
  • Jieyang Rongjiang West Lake
  • Jieyang Tower

Notable people

  • Ke Hua (19 December 1915 – 1 January 2019), former Chinese diplomat
  • Rayson Huang (黃麗松), first Chinese Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong
  • Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒), former Legislative Councillor
  • Daniel Lam See-hin (林思顯), businessman, banker, Legislative Councillor
  • David See-chai Lam (林思齊), banker, businessman, investor, philanthropist, and politician
  • Dennis Lam Shun-chiu (林順潮), ophthalmologist, businessman and politician
  • Lam Chi-fung (林子豐), banker, educator
  • Vintoquián (, Lîm tō-khiân) (?-?), 16th century pirate
  • Li Zhenning (born 1995), Chinese singer and actor
  • Regina Hing Yue Tsang (曾庆瑜), actress, singer
  • Ken Lo (盧惠光), actor, martial artist
  • Zeng Yi (8 March 1929 – 13 July 2020), virologist

See also

  • Chaoshan culture

References

  • Government website of Jieyang (in Simplified Chinese)