Chaoshan or Teoswa (; peng'im: Dio5suan1 [ti̯o˥˥꜖꜖.sũ̯ã˧˧]) is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Min Nan Chaoshan dialect (). The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, consists of the cities Chaozhou, Jieyang and Shantou. It differs linguistically from the rest of Guangdong province which was historically dominated by Yue speakers, followed by Hakka and Leizhou Min speakers. However, Mandarin has recently become the dominant language in the region. It is historically important as the ancestral homeland of many Viets, Thais, Cambodian, Singaporeans, Malaysians and Indonesians of Chinese descent. Etymology and definition The name "Chaoshan" () is a contraction of the names of two of its administrative areas, the prefecture-level cities of Chaozhou () and Shantou (). Chaozhou and Shantou have agglomerated into a single extremely dense metropolitan area, which is among China's most densely populated. It is Guangdong's second largest metropolitan area after the Guangzhou-centered Pearl River Delta, and part of the Southern China Coast Megalopolis. Economy The Chaoshan region, despite being the second largest economy in Guangdong after the Pearl River Delta, is still considered quite small in comparison. In recent years, due to corruption and car smuggling in the 1980s and 1990s, the central government has chosen to slow down growth of this region even though it is still designated as an SEZ (Special Economic Zone). As a result, business has slowed compared to other areas in Guangdong. In recent years Li Ka-shing has also invested heavily in the education and healthcare of this region, in response to the potential for growth. There have been proposals to the Chinese government to amalgamate the whole region into one whole Special Economic Zone, as the split of the region into three cities in 1991 has rapidly slowed down the level of economic growth in the region, with the per capita GDP of Shantou reaching only US$4,250, whereas it was US$8,600 in the whole province. Since the period of 2007–2012, there has only been a 10% growth in GDP, whereas the average economic growth in the whole province has been around 15% in a similar period of time. Geography Encompassing the cities of Chaozhou, Jieyang and Shantou, the Chaoshan region, with a permanent population of 13,937,897 at the end of 2010, covers an area of that stretches from Jieyang on the coast to the southern border of Fujian. Culture and language