Chaoshan by interest: six cross-city lines and the film locations
Start from what you want to see, not from which city. Six cross-city lines plus one film-location line, chosen by theme without first deciding on a city. Each line says which cities it falls in and roughly how long it takes.
Six cross-city lines: pick by what you want to see
Six lines, chosen by interest:
- Bridges and cities：Guangji Bridge → Paifang Street → old houses of the city. Chaozhou alone, one day.
- The treaty port and emigration：Xiaogongyuan → Chen Cihong Residence → Zhanglin old port. Shantou alone, one day.
- Rites and temples：Jieyang Confucian Temple → Jieyang City God Temple → Sanshan Guowang ancestral temple. Jieyang, half a day to a day.
- Hills and sea：Fenghuang Shan(Chao an) /Nan ao Island(Shantou) /Huangmanzhai(Jiexi). Each takes a whole day; pick one, do not be greedy.
- Chaoshan on screen：Letters to Grandma film locations across the three cities: Xima Road and Denggang in Jieyang, Xiaogongyuan and Dongli in Chenghai, Longhu old village in Chaozhou. One line cannot cover them; split by city.
- Eating across the three cities: Chaozhou banquet dishes (braised platter, Huguo vegetable, sweet soup) → Shantou street food (beef hotpot, fish balls, raw-marinated seafood, late congee) → Jieyang hills and sea (pingpong kueh, Longjiang pork trotter rice, pounded tea). Three ways of eating: two days is rushed, three is comfortable.
The six lines sit across three cities; to combine two, settle your start and end first (see Getting there and where to stay, last section).
One more line: the film locations
The most asked-about line in 2026 is the film locations. They are scattered across thirteen places in three cities; a day cannot cover them, and should not try — half that line is village road.
| City | The must-see stop | Why this one |
|---|---|---|
| Jieyang | Xima Road, Rongcheng | the film’s Siam inn and Chinatown. On the old-city walking line, free, no booking; take in Jinxian Gate, the Confucian temple and the City God temple as well |
| Shantou | 77 Haiping Road, Xiaogongyuan | the Siam South cinema, a shot spanning decades. The arcade blocks alone are worth half a day |
| Chaozhou | Longhu old village | the film’s Bangkok street and Chaozhou guild hall. The village is a whole quarter, not one building |
Each takes half a day to a day; arrange them one city a day. For the whole set, see the two-day route on the feature page. The old houses at Dongli in Chenghai stand close together and can be walked in one go, but Zhangcuo is a private house opened free by its owner: behave inside.
Location matches and sources: see Letters to Grandma.
Sources
location matches, film basics and box office (2.005 billion yuan and 58.82 million admissions, to 30 September 2026 when the key expired): see Letters to Grandma the sources section of that page.
Stops and food lists for the three cities: see the Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang pages; the six lines here are a thematic index, adding no new facts.
Visitor figures the film brought to the old city (2.38 million at Spring Festival 2026, up 87 per cent) follow the Jieyang municipal government’s 2026 release. Checked 19 October 2026.
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