Shantou is asteroid #3139 and also known as 1980 VL1. Shantou belongs to the Hirayama-family Alauda. Shantou was discovered at the Purple Mountain Observatory.

Shantou is named after the city Shàntóu (汕头) in the province Guǎngdōng (广东) in China. In the south part of the city is the Shantou Free Trade Zone, but this was only established three years (in 1993) after the asteroid was named (in 1990), so this can’t be relevant. Many people emigrated from the area around Shantou to Thailand, so that strong ties were established this way. The most interesting feature of Shàntóu (汕头) is that the Tropic of Cancer passes close to the city and is marked there with a monument in the shape of a globe.

Shantou is a place name asteroid hinting mainly to the city Shàntóu (汕头) in China. Shàn (汕) appears exclusively in the name Shàntóu (汕头), so the attempt to translate the name fails. Hence Shantou can besides hinting to the city only indicate connections to Thailand or hint to the Tropic of Cancer.