Meixian, Meizhou

Meixian District (梅县区) is a district of Meizhou City, in northeastern Guangdong Province, China, bordering Fujian Province to the east.^[1] The district is an important Hakka settlement and is the ancestral home of many Hakka descendants living in Taiwan and other countries worldwide.

Meixian 梅县区
District
District of Meixian
Location of the district in Meizhou
Meixian Location in Guangdong
Coordinates: 24°19′17″N 116°07′10″E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Guangdong
Prefecture-level city	Meizhou
Area
• Total	2,755.36 km2 (1,063.85 sq mi)
Population  (2020 census)
• Total	556,735
• Density	200/km2 (520/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Website	www.gdmx.gov.cn

Meixian, Meizhou
Traditional Chinese	梅縣
Simplified Chinese	梅县
Hakka	Mòi-yen (IPA: [mɔi˩jɛn˥˧])
Literal meaning	Plum County
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Méixiàn Hakka Romanization Mòi-yen (IPA: [mɔi˩jɛn˥˧]) Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Mui4 Jyun6
Former Name (Qing dynasty)
Traditional Chinese	嘉應
Simplified Chinese	嘉应
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jiaying

History

Meixian was a rural peasant county with the exception of a city called Songkou, and its original name was Chengxiang county (程鄕) founded at the southern Han Dynasty where it was first created. It was renamed Jiaying county during the Ming empire It only obtained it's current rename during the Kuomintang Republic of China.

Geography

Map including Meixian (MEI-HSIEN 梅縣 (KAYING)) area (1954)

Meixian almost completely surrounds Meizhou's central urban Meijiang District. This is due to the old urban core of Meixian becoming separated from the bulk of the county in the territorial reorganization following the 1949 establishment of the People's Republic of China, when it was given equal status.

Ethno-linguistic make-up

Meixian is noted for its large Hakka population.

Administrative divisions

Meixian has administrative jurisdiction over one subdistrict and 18 towns.^[2]

Subdistrict

• Xincheng (Chinese: 新城街道)

Towns

• Chendong (城东镇)
• Shisan (石扇镇)
• Meixi (梅西镇)
• Daping (大坪镇)
• Shikeng (石坑镇)
• Shuiche (水车镇)
• Meinan (梅南镇)
• Bincun (丙村镇)
• Baidu (白渡镇)
• Songyuan (松源镇)
• Longwen (隆文镇)
• Taoyao (桃尧镇)
• Shejiang (畲江镇)
• Yanyang (雁洋镇)
• Songkou (松口镇)
• Nankou (南口镇)
• Chengjiang (程江镇)
• Fuda (扶大镇)

Culture

With a majority Hakka population, Meixian, along with Dabu County, is known as the home of Standard Hakka.