Shantou has recently bidden to host the 22nd Teochew International Convention in 2024, a platform that people of Teochew descent can communicate and exchange with each other and seek common development.

Teochew, or Chaoshan area, is a general name for the cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong province, mainly the four cities of Shantou, Chaozhou, Jieyang and Shanwei. There are currently more than 15 million people of Teochew descent spreading nearly 100 countries and regions globally.

Zhanglin Ancient Port in Shantou. [Photo by Wu Juncai/Shantou Broadcasting and TV Station]

Shantou is a renowned hometown of overseas Chinese, and its development can't do without these people. In 1984, Xie Guomin came back and opened the first foreign-invested enterprise in the city, and in 2014, China's first overseas Chinese-themed national-level development platform, Shantou Overseas Chinese Economic and Cultural Cooperation Pilot Zone, was approved by the State Council to set up.

Since the establishment of Shantou Special Economic Zone over 40 years ago, 6,289 projects directly invested by foreigners had settled in the city, of which 5,865 were invested by overseas Chinese, with a contract amount of $14.91 billion.

The ninth Teochew International Convention took place in Shantou in 1997, with 86 delegations from 24 countries and regions and over 3,000 people of Teochew descent participating in.