Shantou
Decide whether to visit or live in Shantou, then explore current conditions, local people, the map, and concise sourced context.
Check visit & living safetyUpdated Thursday, October 29, 2026 · sourced live layer and versioned editorial content
AI-assisted, evidence-constrained research · how this page is made
Would you visit or live in Shantou?
Choose your plan and circumstances. The result changes immediately using today's advisory, weather, air-quality, and sourced local signals.
Suitable with normal precautions
Travel to Shantou is subject to national travel advisories for China, which feature updated warnings and insurance information.
high source confidence · current planning signal, not a personal-safety guaranteeSee the evidence and calculation
- Current official alerts require extra planning
- Latest air-quality reading is not elevated
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office travel advice for China provides updated information on warnings and insurance.
- Local environmental issues include electronic waste processing concerns noted by international organizations.
The score combines dated official-advisory wording, weather, air quality, sourced local context, and your selections. It does not predict crime or individual outcomes. Check local authorities and professional advice before a safety-critical decision.
Climate normals · 2016–2025
When to go: Shantou month by month
Judged purely on 2016–2025 weather records, the friendliest months in Shantou are typically March, November and December, with average daytime highs around 21–25°C. July is usually the warmest month (average high 32°C), January the coldest (average low 12°C), and August the wettest (about 330 mm). These are long-run averages, not a forecast.
| Month | Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | Rain (mm) | Sunshine (h/day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19.0 | 11.8 | 40 | 7.8 |
| February | 19.3 | 12.5 | 49 | 7.4 |
| March | 22.2 | 15.3 | 84 | 7.5 |
| April | 26.0 | 19.3 | 102 | 8.5 |
| May | 28.5 | 23.0 | 202 | 8.5 |
| June | 30.2 | 25.5 | 317 | 8.8 |
| July | 31.6 | 26.4 | 243 | 10.7 |
| August | 31.1 | 25.9 | 330 | 9.7 |
| September | 30.7 | 25.0 | 204 | 10.0 |
| October | 28.4 | 21.9 | 96 | 8.9 |
| November | 25.0 | 17.9 | 61 | 8.1 |
| December | 21.0 | 13.2 | 32 | 8.1 |
Would you visit or live in Shantou?
Contribute your perspective to the aggregated global community ledger.
People and places shaping Shantou
AI-assisted local research, regenerated with the dated live layer. Every requested module remains visible; facts appear only after a source check, and unavailable categories explain what is still being researched.
Research updated Monday, September 28, 2026Past and future events in Shantou
Upcoming
- 2026 Shantou Marathon
Scheduled to take place in Shantou on December 20, 2026.
Previously
- Documented history · 1563
In 1563, Shantou became a part of Chenghai County in Chao Prefecture (Chaozhou).
- Documented history · 1574
As early as 1574, Shantou had been called Shashanping (沙汕坪).
- Documented history · 1860
In 1860, Shantou was opened for foreigners and became a trading port according to Treaty of Tientsin.
- Documented history · 1919
It became a city in 1919, and was separated from Chenghai in 1921.
- Opening of Shantou as a treaty port
In 1860, Shantou was opened for foreigners and became a trading port according to the Treaty of Tientsin.
Sources checked (19)
- Shantou
- Liu Xiaotao - Wikipedia
- Welcome To Shantou
- A southern mayor's love affair with China - Newsroom
- Shantou, China - YouTube
- The Life of the Party | Foreign Affairs
- Big fish in small ponds: China's subnational diplomacy in Europe
- Resumen de Shantou, China 2026 | Tiempo, hora y clima
- WIPO China Office – Archive of other IP events
- GPS coordinates of Shantou, China. Latitude: 23.3681 Longitude
- XI JINPING BECOMES THE LEADER OF CHINA - Facts and Details
- Political Groupings: Commonalities, Factions, and Cliques (Chapter 5)
- 25 Things to Do in Shantou (China) - The Crazy Tourist
- China battles coronavirus outbreak: All the latest updates - Al Jazeera
- Current Local Time in Shantou, Liaoning, China
- (PDF) The Rise and Fall of Ruling Oligarchs: Fighting “Political ...
- Dyntra - The Transparency of Shantou - China
- Shantou Conditions météorologiques en temps réel de : Température
- Wikidata structured records for Shantou
Interactive geography
See Shantou in context
Keep the deeper context
Stable history, culture, districts, and practical reference remain in the main reading flow while the live layers above continue changing.
01 · OverviewShantou, in brief
Shantou is a prefecture-level city situated on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China. Also romanized historically as Swatow and occasionally known as Santow, the municipality serves as a significant economic center within the region.
How do populations and daily movements shape this densely inhabited coastal territory? Daily life across the administrative area unfolds among a permanent population recorded at 5,502,031 during the 2020 census, alongside a much larger built-up metropolitan footprint containing 12,543,024 inhabitants. Within the urban and surrounding sectors, daily movement and communication are heavily influenced by linguistic traditions, where most residents are Teochew people speaking a variant of Southern Min. Younger generations frequently navigate daily interactions in Mandarin due to the national education system, while labor migrations and television broadcasts also spread the use of Cantonese as an additional language.
How do geography and historical development influence everyday patterns of transit and trade? Situated at the mouths of the Han, Rong, and Lian Rivers, the city spans a coastal landscape where the Tropic of Cancer crosses the northern sector. Historically recognized as an important 19th-century treaty port following the Treaty of Tientsin in 1860, the municipality later became one of China's original special economic zones during the 1980s. Today, daily commercial activity extends into specialized zones such as the Shantou Free Trade Zone, which was established in January 1993 and occupies an area of 2.34 square kilometers to handle export processing, storage, and international trade.
Additional details regarding the region's historical background, transit connections, and administrative structure can be explored directly through the comprehensive entry on Shantou.
Frequently Asked Questions about Shantou
Essential geographic, demographic, currency, and travel context verified from primary records.
01 · Q&AWhere is Shantou located and what are its coordinates?
Shantou is situated in China at geographic coordinates 23.3549, 116.6788, with an elevation monitored in regional geographic surveys.
02 · Q&AWhat is the population and time zone of Shantou?
Shantou has a recorded population of approximately 3,838,900 and observes the Asia/Shanghai time zone.
03 · Q&AWhat languages and currency are used in Shantou?
Official and commonly spoken languages in Shantou include ZH-CN, YUE, WUU, DTA, UG, ZA, with CNY used for local transactions.
04 · Q&AHow can I check live conditions and daily updates for Shantou?
Today's Atlas provides continuous tracking for Shantou, featuring real-time weather conditions, daylight cycles, local geographic signals, and verified daily briefs.