Meizhou cuisine had the distinctive characteristics of Hakka cuisine. The dishes tasted fresh and salty, and they were crisp and tender. The traditional Meizhou cuisine mainly consisted of poultry and aquatic products. Meizhou included Meijiang District, Mei County District, Xingning City, Wuhua County, Fengshun County, Dapu County, Jiaoling County, and Pingyuan County (a total of 2 districts, 1 city, and 5 counties). There were many Hakka delicacies. Famous dishes such as Meizhou Salt Baked Chicken, Pork Braised with Preserved Vegetables, Meizhou Niangjiu Chicken, Meizhou Salt Baked Chicken Claw, Hakka Red Braised Meat, Meizhou Phoenix Reincarnation (Pork Belly Chicken), etc. should be quite popular in Meizhou. They were the popular choices on the dining table of Meizhou people. Among them, Meizhou Salt-Baked Chicken was one of the famous traditional Han dishes in Guangdong and one of the signature dishes of local Hakka. Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables was a famous traditional dish of Han and Hakka. It was also a special traditional dish in Meizhou and Huizhou. The "Niangjiu" in Meizhou Niangjiu Chicken was the essence of glutinous rice wine in Hakka culture. Meizhou Salt-Baked Chicken Claw reflected the characteristics of salt-baked chicken in Guangdong Hakka culture. Hakka braised meat showed a variety of Hakka cuisine. Meizhou Phoenix's reincarnation also had a more common name,"Pig Belly Chicken." In addition, there were also special dishes such as Meizhou fermented tofu, Meizhou pickled noodles, braised pork with preserved vegetables, fish with vinegar sauce, fried duck, stewed fish belly, and other special dishes such as Meizhou Hakka wine. They were also a part of Meizhou people's diet. There were also special yellow plate snacks in the northern mountainous area of Xingning in Meizhou, as well as local specialties such as smashed palm. They might also be the food that Meizhou people would choose to eat on a daily basis or on special occasions.
Meizhou cuisine had the distinctive characteristics of Hakka cuisine. The dishes tasted fresh and salty, and they were crisp and tender. The traditional Meizhou cuisine mainly consisted of poultry and aquatic products. There were many special dishes in Meizhou, such as Meizhou Salt-Baked Chicken, Meizhou Stuffed Tofu, Meizhou Salted Noodles, Meizhou Roasted Meat, Vinegar Fish, Fried Duck, Stewed Fish Maw, etc. These dishes were not only food for Meizhou people, but also an important embodiment of regional culture. Famous Hakka dishes such as braised pork with preserved vegetables were deeply rooted in Meizhou and Huizhou, which was an irreplaceable taste of hometown in the hearts of the locals. The "mother wine" in Meizhou Niangjiu Chicken was the essence of glutinous rice wine in Hakka culture, and chicken was also the favorite cooking protagonist of local people. The salt-baked chicken dish belonging to Meizhou Salt-Baked Chicken Claw was a masterpiece in Guangdong Hakka culture. The Hakka braised pork covered a variety of cooking techniques, showing the variety of Hakka cuisine. Meizhou Pork Belly Chicken was also a popular dish. In addition, Meizhou also included the present Meijiang District, Mei County District, Xingning City, Wuhua County, Fengshun County, Dapu County, Jiaoling County, and Pingyuan County. There were 2 districts, 1 city, and 5 counties. Each area had rich Hakka cuisine. The local Meizhou Hakka Niangjiu was also very famous, and there were some unique snacks such as yellow plates made from pearl rice (rice) in the northern mountains of Xingning, as well as smashed brown. From this, it could be seen that Meizhou cuisine occupied a very important position in the diet of Meizhou people and was deeply loved by Meizhou people.
Meizhou had many special delicacies to choose from, such as Meizhou Salt Baked Chicken, Meizhou Stuffed Tofu, Meizhou Salted Noodles, Pork with Preserved Vegetables, Vinegar Fish, Fried Duck, Stewed Fish Maw, etc. In addition, there are also some signature dishes in specialty restaurants that should not be missed, such as Weilong House Star Garden Restaurant.(Fuqi Road, Sanjiao Town, Meijiang District), Xiangyi Fried Conch, Jinyuan Restaurant (Jinyuan Community, Qiuyuan Road, Meijiang District), Old Street pot rice (Zhongyuan East Road, Meijiang District), Fengji Restaurant (Tianxiu Yiheng Street, Mei County District); Salt-baked chicken from Wanqiu Building (Fuwai Village, New City Office, Mei County District); Stir-fried conch from Chengde Building Weilong House Xingyuan Restaurant (South China Avenue, Meijiang District); Daxing Whole Pig Soup (Middle Section of Xinzhong Road, Sanheng Street); Boiled Meatballs in Bingcun; Chengyijia·Meizhou Salted Noodles (Hongyan Road, Jiangnan Street, Meijiang District); Hakka Red Braised Meat from Linjiang Hotel (Jinshawan International Hotel).
The people of Meizhou had many excellent qualities. Meizhou was the hometown of the Hakka people. It was known as the "World's Hakka Capital." Many of the people in Meizhou were Hakka. They were hardworking and thrifty, worshiped literature and education, loved their country and hometown, valued righteousness over profit, and had the courage to open up new horizons. The traditional Meizhou Hakka women could be regarded as the model of China working women." They can do all the things of ploughing, planting, firewood, mortar, cooking, weaving and sewing. They can serve their wives, teach their children, manage the household affairs, and be orderly. They are smarter than men." With their selfless dedication, the Hakka men went out to do business, study, seek official positions, revolution, etc. Moreover, the people of Meizhou were warm and hospitable. They were curious and accepting of new things. They were proud of the development of their city and looked forward to the future.
Meizhou people had many characteristics. In terms of personality, the people of Meizhou were warm and hospitable. They were curious and accepting of new things. They were proud of the development of their city and full of expectations for the future. In terms of cultural inheritance, Meizhou people mainly relied on Hakka culture. Most of them were Hakka. In Meijiang District, Mei County District, Xingning City, Wuhua County, Fengshun County, Dapu County, Pingyuan County, Jiaoling County, except Fengshun County, the rest were all "pure guest counties" with more than 90% of the Hakka population. They retained the original Hakka customs. In Meizhou,"Hakka" was more of a cultural concept, including Hakka language, Hakka consciousness, and Hakka customs. In terms of food culture, Meizhou people had a unique culinary tradition. For example, they were good at making traditional Hakka dishes, such as braised pork with preserved vegetables. At the same time, they also had innovative Hakka dishes that incorporated modern elements. There were also special delicacies such as pickled noodles, which reflected the characteristics of Meizhou people's diet. From the perspective of urban development, Meizhou people were actively participating in the transformation and development of the city, playing an important role in the development of emerging industries and traditional industries.
Meizhou people had a unique and important position in Guangdong. From an economic point of view, although Meizhou's geographical environment was more mountainous and less land, and relatively isolated, Meizhou people adhered to their unique qualities and actively struggled. They could often be seen in the position of the top ten richest people in Guangdong. Moreover, Meizhou was undergoing economic transformation, with emerging industries and traditional industries developing together. It had its own influence in the economic development pattern of Guangdong. In terms of culture, Meizhou was one of the important origins of Hakka culture, and Hakka was the main component of many ethnic groups in southern China. In Guangdong, Hakka people were mainly distributed in Meizhou City, Heyuan City, Huizhou City, etc. Hakka culture occupied an important position in Guangdong's cultural system. As the inheritors and communicators of Hakka culture, Meizhou people had made positive contributions to the richness of Guangdong culture. In terms of social influence, Meizhou was a famous historical and cultural city in the country, one of the key hometown of overseas Chinese in the country, and one of the important ancestral homes of compatriots from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Hong Kong. There were more than 7 million Chinese overseas Chinese living overseas. Among the 5 million Hakka people in Taiwan, 1.8 million were from Meizhou. This extensive network and influence also reflected the influence of Meizhou people in Guangdong and even in a larger range. At the same time, the Meizhou people in Guangdong also demonstrated the qualities of unity, hospitality, etc. They adhered to the concept of "the world's Hakka is one family". In areas with Meizhou people, there were often Hakka associations, Hakka fellow countrymen associations, Chongzheng Association and other organizations. This kind of unity and mutual assistance also helped to improve the status of Meizhou people in Guangdong.
The ancestral home of Meizhou people mostly came from Hebei, Henan, Anhui and other regions of the Central Plains. Recently, it was mainly Tingzhou (now Changting) in Fujian Province. The genealogy of Meizhou's Hakka people mostly showed that their ancestors came from Shibi, Ninghua County, Fujian Province. Many overseas Hakka people migrated from Meizhou. Shibi, Ninghua, was known as the "Hakka ancestral land", and Meizhou was the "world's guest capital". The Hakka people started from the Yongjia Rebellion of the Western Jin Dynasty and went through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties before finally forming the Hakka people. Due to the war, their ancestors migrated all the way from the Yellow River basin in the Central Plains to the south. Later, they settled in Meizhou, Heyuan, Shaoguan and other cities in Guangdong. Longyan in Fujian and Ganzhou in Jiangxi were also one of the main settlements. There were also other provinces such as Hunan, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Taiwan. To differentiate themselves from the local aborigines, they called themselves the "Hakka".
Meizhou people were easier to get along with. The people of Meizhou were hospitable, curious and accepting of new things. They were proud of the development of the city and looked forward to the future. From the communication with the locals, he could feel their positive attitude. These characteristics showed that Meizhou people were relatively easy to get along with.
Meizhou had a lot of trendy elements. In the field of fashion, there was a hairstyle modification event for all the boys in Meizhou. This event was very popular. It expanded from a small barbershop to the entire Meizhou, attracting many young people to participate. They used this opportunity to show their own style, find confidence, and self-identity. As the event was promoted, the fashion atmosphere and aesthetic concepts of young people in Meizhou were gradually changing. In addition, Meizhou Jiaoling's online celebrity hairstylists integrated anime and anime elements into hairstyle design to create unique hairstyles. They were highly skilled and creative, and their works were popular locally and widely spread through social media. In terms of business, the Meizhou Gold trend outlook forum and fashion grand ceremony held on December 24,2023 was grandly opened. Jin Yafu's new retail strategy landed in Meizhou and the first store opened, adding new elements to Meizhou's fashion industry. All of these showed the trendy characteristics of Meizhou.
The Japanese believed that the 19th Route Army of Meizhou people was based on the "Hakka xenophobic ideology", which was linked to Cai Mengji, Wen Tianxiang, Lu Xiufu, and others who defended Xingning City when the Yuan soldiers went south during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. They felt that although the Hakka's anti-foreign ideology was patriotic, it was also very conservative. Because they had been oppressed by other ethnic groups for many years (especially during the Qing Dynasty), their anti-foreign ideology had turned into revolutionary ideology. In the eyes of the Japanese, the Meizhou Hakka people had great influence in the military, political, and financial circles in Guangdong. They must study it. They believed that the China did not have the spirit of unity and unity. Only the Hakka people were very united in spirit.
This statement was not accurate. Cantonese includes three major dialect: Guangfu dialect (Cantonese), Chaoshan dialect, and Hakka dialect. Meizhou was mainly inhabited by Hakka, but that didn't mean that Meizhou people couldn't speak Guangfu (Cantonese). In modern society, due to the integration of various exchanges, Meizhou people may have the opportunity to learn and use Cantonese under the influence of schools, work, media, etc. Moreover, under the overall cultural exchange environment of Guangdong, there are also cases where Meizhou people master Cantonese. At the same time, Meizhou people generally spoke Hakka, which was also one of the important dialect of Guangdong.