Letters from the South is an eight-day China itinerary that follows the old maritime coast from Guangzhou to Xiamen, shaped by the film Dear You but designed for travelers who want depth rather than film locations. You spend two days in Guangzhou (dim sum, the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, a Lingnan flower-arranging session), a full craft day in Chaozhou where you pick one workshop, one day in the Jieyang and Shantou landscapes behind the film's qiaopi letters, then Quanzhou's port heritage and a coastal finish in Xiamen. High-speed rail carries you between cities; a private car covers the rural Chaoshan day. LocalKey plans and books the whole route and you choose one craft and one performance as the trip bends around your dates.
Guangzhou · Chaozhou · Shantou · Quanzhou · Xiamen A journey shaped by letters, craft and the people who kept traditions alive. The film Dear You brought the old streets, village bridges and qiaopi letters of Chaoshan into view. This eight-day journey begins with Cantonese life and traditional flower arranging in Guangzhou, continues through Chaozhou’s craft workshops and the film landscapes of Shantou and Jieyang, then follows the coast to Quanzhou and Xiamen. Tea is part of the journey, but it is not the whole story. Embroidery, clay, opera, architecture, food and family memory reveal a southern China that is still actively lived, not preserved behind glass.
The practical shape of the trip.
Everything below adjusts. These are the defaults LocalKey starts from when we quote your dates, pace and hotel level.
“This route trades checklist sightseeing for a slower, handmade south: two full days in Guangzhou, a craft day in Chaozhou, and coastal cities read through food, performance and port history.” LocalKey trip-design principle
Duration
8 days / 7 nights
Cities
Guangzhou, Chaozhou, Jieyang, Shantou, Quanzhou, Xiamen
In / out
Fly into Guangzhou (CAN), fly out of Xiamen (XMN)
Group size
2–6 travelers; larger parties on request
Best season
March–May and October–December. Summers are hot and humid; the lunar new year period is crowded.
Intercity transport
High-speed rail between regions. Station pickups are included in Tailor-Made and can be added to Self-Guided.
Rural Chaoshan
The Jieyang countryside day needs a private car, and one is included in both travel styles
Travel style
Self-Guided, on your own and mainly by public transport, or Tailor-Made with a driver-guide and a private car or a mix of car and rail
Good for
Food-led travelers, craft and design enthusiasts, repeat visitors to China, and anyone curious about coastal China’s ties to the Chinese diaspora
Price
On request, quoted by hotel level and the number of private-service days
A starting shape, not a fixed package.
This route is for travelers who enjoy entering a region through its everyday culture rather than moving between headline sights. If that is how you travel, tell us and we will adjust the shape around your dates and pace.
The journey includes recognizable landmarks, but its rhythm comes from smaller moments: a flower arrangement taking shape, gold thread crossing an embroidery frame, a handwritten remittance letter, drums carrying through a village and an old port city after the day crowds leave.
“Four anchors carry the route, and none of them requires a queue.” LocalKey specialist note
On film
Film locations in Shantou and Jieyang, without turning the journey into a checklist.
By hand
Traditional Lingnan flower arranging in Guangzhou, plus one hands-on Chaozhou craft you choose yourself.
In sound
Yingge, Chaozhou opera, Nanyin or puppetry, selected according to the live performance calendar.
On the move
High-speed rail between regions, with private transport where local geography requires it, especially on the rural Chaoshan days.
Six stops, one continuous coast.
The route moves south and east along the old maritime trading arc. Each city earns its nights.
The logic behind the order.
This route is arranged around arrival, rail geography and the way the region actually works, not around a checklist of famous stops.
“The south is a rail corridor: Guangzhou, Chaoshan, Quanzhou, Xiamen sit on one line, so the sequence is driven by geography rather than by fitting in sights.” LocalKey trip-design principle
Start soft
Guangzhou absorbs long-haul arrivals: good food, easy connectivity, nothing ambitious on day one.
Rail before rural
Chaozhou is reached by high-speed rail, so the hardest travel happens before the countryside days, not after them.
Rural Chaoshan mid-route
The Jieyang & Shantou countryside needs a private car. Placing it mid-trip keeps two long rail days off the same stretch.
Coast as the finish
Quanzhou to Xiamen is a short rail hop; the final evening is coastal and unhurried, and the exit airport is easy.
Where to slow down
Eight days, paced for the south.
Odd days read left-to-right, even days right-to-left. On a phone, the image always comes first.
Day 1
Guangzhou
Land gently in southern China
Arrive in Guangzhou and get to the hotel. The first afternoon is deliberately light: check in, confirm mobile payments and connectivity, then take a short walk close to the hotel before a Cantonese dinner. Nothing ambitious is placed on arrival day.
Long-haul arrivals should not start with a schedule. The city will still be there tomorrow morning, the dim sum queues especially.
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Airport to hotel: private pickup on Tailor-Made, or metro and a short taxi ride on Self-Guided
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Hotel check-in and connectivity setup
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Short neighborhood walk near the hotel
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Cantonese dinner at a locally run restaurant
Day 2
Guangzhou
From the morning table to Lingnan aesthetics
Start with dim sum, the morning ritual the city actually runs on — the Cantonese morning tea guide has the full picture. Then the carved courtyards of the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, a slow walk through Xiguan or Yongqing Fang, and one waterfront choice between Shamian Island and the Pearl River.
In the afternoon, a traditional flower-arranging session with a local master. Chinese flower arranging is built around space, season and the natural direction of each branch, not the symmetry of a Western bouquet. In Guangzhou, the practice draws on local plants, Lingnan painting and the city’s long relationship with flowers.
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Cantonese morning tea
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Chen Clan Ancestral Hall (carving & folk craft)
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Xiguan / Yongqing Fang neighborhood walk
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Shamian Island or Pearl River waterfront
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Lingnan flower arranging, 2–2.5 hours, small finished piece included
If the master’s calendar is full
Day 3
Guangzhou → Chaozhou
Travel east to a city made by hand
Take the high-speed train east and continue on to Chaozhou — see how foreigners buy high-speed rail tickets before you travel. Before making anything yourself, learn how to look: woodcarving, ceramic mosaic and sculpted rooflines are built into the city’s homes, temples and ancestral halls.
Chaozhou rewards patience. The old town, Guangji Bridge and the Han River give the city its frame; the carving, inlay and roof decoration give it its density.
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High-speed rail Guangzhou South → Chaoshan station
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Onward to Chaozhou old town: private car on Tailor-Made, or the station bus and a short taxi ride on Self-Guided
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Walk the ancient city and Guangji Bridge
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Kaiyuan Temple or the Han River waterfront
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Chaozhou dinner, overnight in the old town
Learn to look at
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Gold-lacquer woodcarving (jin-qi mu-diao)
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Ceramic mosaic roof decoration (qian-ci)
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Stone carving and sculpted rooflines
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Ancestral halls and traditional courtyard houses
Day 4
Chaozhou
Choose one craft and stay with it
One craft is enough. The point is not to collect demonstrations, but to spend time with a material, a maker and the decisions behind the finished object. Pick one of three workshops before the trip; each runs for most of the day, hosted by the maker and their own team.
Chaozhou Embroidery
Gold thread, patience and the raised surface of Chaozhou embroidery
Gold and silver thread on a padded surface. Watch an embroiderer at work, try a simplified motif, and finish a small sampler, bookmark or sachet panel. Best for textile, design and family travelers.
Hand-Pulled Red Clay
Shape the vessel before pouring the tea
Learn the local zhuni clay, watch a hand-pulled throw, try simple shaping, and understand why the spout, handle and pour matter. Firing and shipping of finished pieces depends on the workshop’s schedule, confirmed in advance.
Dawu Clay Figurines
Small figures drawn from opera and village stories
Meet the people and opera characters behind the figurines, watch shaping and painting, and make a simplified figure or animal. Best for families and fans of folk art.
Also on this day
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Kaiyuan Temple or Xu Fuma’s Mansion, choose one
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Free walking time in the old town
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30–60 minutes of gongfu tea as rest, not a half-day session
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Chaozhou dinner or beef hotpot
Day 5
Chaozhou → Jieyang → Shantou
Step into the landscapes behind the letters
The journey now follows the landscapes that gave Dear You its emotional weight. Village bridges, banyan trees and old houses matter here not because they are film props, but because they still belong to living communities.
In the afternoon, learn to read the rooftops: the ceramic mosaic of old Chaoshan houses, and how shards of porcelain become flowers, animals and opera figures. In the evening you sleep in Shantou, where dinner means beef hotpot, cold cuts, rice-flour snacks or seafood.
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Morning villages around Denggang, Jieyang: stone bridges, banyans, old courtyard houses
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Points chosen by current access, on public roads and confirmed visitor areas
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Afternoon: old Chaoshan houses & rooftop qian-ci, with a local interpreter who reads the roofs
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Simple ceramic-mosaic craft if the workshop can confirm space
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Evening in Shantou: beef hotpot, da-leng, guo or seafood
Village access
Day 6
Shantou → Quanzhou
Letters in the morning, drums in the afternoon
Spend the morning in Shantou’s old arcade quarter (the Xiao Gongyuan district) and in the city’s qiaopi heritage collections, where remittance letters from overseas Chinese were once read, answered and kept. These streets are where the film’s urban scenes were set, and they are also a functioning old town.
The afternoon is given to Yingge dance or Chaozhou opera, depending on what is actually on the local calendar. Afterwards, the high-speed rail carries you east to Quanzhou.
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Xiao Gongyuan arcades and old-town walk
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Qiaopi heritage collection: real letters, receipts and ledgers
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Afternoon: Yingge or Chaozhou opera, per calendar, see note
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Evening high-speed rail to Quanzhou
Yingge is a calendar event, not a daily show
Day 7
Quanzhou → Xiamen
A port city where cultures met
Quanzhou was one of the world’s great ports before the age of sail ended — the city's Song-Yuan heritage is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its skyline still records the meeting of religions and trades. The morning chooses three of the city’s anchors: the Buddhist Kaiyuan Temple, the Song-era Qingjing Mosque, the Guandi and Tianhou temples, the Maritime Museum, or West Street and its lanes.
In Quanzhou, heritage is often heard before it is explained. Choose the restrained sound of Nanyin or the precision of string puppetry, then continue to Xiamen for the final coastal evening.
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Morning: three chosen from Kaiyuan, Qingjing, Guandi, Tianhou, Maritime Museum, West Street
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Afternoon, Option A: Nanyin, small live performance and instruments
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Afternoon, Option B: String puppetry, a formal show; no hands-on puppetry promised
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Evening: rail to Xiamen, Shapowei or a seaside walk, seafood or Minnan dinner
Day 8
Xiamen
Leave from the coast, or stay a little longer
Transfer to Xiamen Airport for departure. If the flight allows, a short morning walk along the coast keeps the ending unhurried.
Travelers with more time can add one or two nights on Gulangyu island, or in Jimei — the Fujian tulou guide covers another classic south stop nearby, for a slower coastal finish. Gulangyu is offered as an extension; it is not squeezed into the main route.
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Hotel breakfast and checkout
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Short seaside walk, time permitting
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Out to Xiamen Gaoqi (XMN): private transfer on Tailor-Made, or metro on Self-Guided
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Extension option: +1–2 nights Gulangyu or Jimei
Choose the way you enter the culture
Each experience below is bookable inside the route. Pick one craft, one performance, and let the rest happen around meals and streets.
Flowers
Traditional Lingnan flower arranging
Work with branches, local flowers and negative space to create a small composition shaped by Chinese ideas of season and balance. Guangzhou, Day 2.
Thread
Chaozhou embroidery
Follow gold thread across a raised surface and understand why embroidery belongs to architecture, opera and domestic life. Chaozhou, Day 4.
Clay
Hand-pulled red clay or Dawu sculpture
Shape a vessel for tea or a small figure drawn from local stories. Chaozhou, Day 4.
Sound & Movement
Yingge, Chaozhou opera or Nanyin
See how regional culture moves and sounds, subject to the local performance calendar. Shantou or Quanzhou.
Fixed anchors, chosen experiences.
Some experiences are built into every version of this route. Two choices stay open, so the trip bends to what you actually want to do.
Always included
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Lingnan flower arranging (or approved alternative)
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Old Chaoshan houses & rooftop qian-ci, with explanation
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Shantou qiaopi heritage visit
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Public Nanyin or puppetry performance in Quanzhou, subject to the live calendar
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High-speed rail between cities, plus the Jieyang countryside car day
Chaozhou craft, choose one
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Chaozhou embroidery
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Fengxi hand-pulled red clay teapot
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Dawu clay figurines
Shantou performance, choose one
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Yingge cultural experience
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Chaozhou opera or Chaozhou music
Self-Guided or Tailor-Made.
Both start from the same work: the route is designed for you, and every booking on it is made before you go. What changes is who is beside you on the road, and how you move between cities.
Self-Guided
You travel on your own. We plan the whole route and book it, then hand you the notes and let you go — the Self-Guided adventures page explains the model.
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Full planning for all eight days: hotels, high-speed rail, admissions, workshops and performances booked in advance.
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LocalKey trip notes for Guangzhou, Chaozhou, Shantou and Quanzhou: how to get from one stop to the next, where to eat nearby, what to drop if the day runs long.
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You move mainly by public transport: high-speed rail between cities, metro, taxi or Didi once you are in them.
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One private car for the Jieyang countryside day, the stretch where no train or bus reaches the villages.
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No guide travels with you. Where a single session needs a specialist, such as the workshop host or someone who can read the old rooftops, that person joins for the session only.
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WhatsApp or WeChat support throughout, in English.
Suits travellers who like working a city out for themselves, and would rather not spend a holiday following someone else's flag.
Tailor-Made
The same planning and booking, with the shape of each day set around you and a driver-guide on the road when it earns its keep — see the Tailor-Made trips page for what changes.
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Everything above, plus door-to-door transfers at every airport and station.
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A private vehicle with a driver-guide through the Chaoshan section, or a mix of car and high-speed rail where the train is simply the better way to do a leg.
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Pacing set around you: later starts, shorter walks through the old towns, longer inside the one workshop you care about.
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Craft studios, restaurants and performances booked for you, and rearranged mid-trip if something better turns up.
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Hotel grades, private sessions and particular interests, whether that is food, architecture or craft, built into the plan from the start.
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Someone to absorb the small frictions: a delayed train, a studio that closed early, a restaurant that cannot find your name.
Suits anyone who would rather not read a map on holiday, or who is travelling with parents, children, or a mixed group that needs the days kept gentle.
How many days should a Chaoshan and Fujian trip last?
Eight days is the honest minimum for this route. If you have six, drop Quanzhou rather than compress the craft days: the two full days in Guangzhou and the workshop day in Chaozhou are what make the trip work. Add one or two nights on Gulangyu island or in Jimei only if you want a slower coastal finish.
Do you need to have seen Dear You to enjoy this trip?
No. The film is an entry point, not a syllabus. Every stop stands on its own as food, craft or city life, and LocalKey never stages film scenes or promises entry into private filming properties.
Who should change this itinerary.
This route suits a particular kind of traveler. If you recognise yourself below, tell us, and we will redesign it before you book.
First China trip
First-timers usually want the headline cities first: Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai. This route rewards travelers who already have a feel for China and want depth, food and craft.
Tight on time
Eight days is the honest minimum for the south. If you have six, we would drop Quanzhou rather than compress the craft days.
Primarily here for the film
This is not a film-location checklist. If Dear You is your main reason, ask for a tighter, film-focused variation around confirmed accessible locations.
Wants a mountain or lake
If the trip needs a landscape anchor, we pair Chaoshan with a different region; this route stays coastal by design.
Official sources
- 12306 English homepage — official channel for high-speed rail tickets between Guangzhou, Chaoshan, Quanzhou and Xiamen
- UNESCO World Heritage List: Quanzhou, Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China — why the port city's heritage matters
- China National Tourism Administration / travel advisory — entry and travel policies for foreign visitors (verify before booking)