Songjiang is a suburban

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

(formerly a county) of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. It has a land area of and a population of 1,909,713 (

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

). Owing to a long history, Songjiang is known as the cultural root of Shanghai.

Songjiang Town Songjiang is a suburban district (formerly a county) of Shanghai. It has a land area of and a population of 1,909,713 (2020). Owing to a long history, Songjiang is known as the cultural root of Shanghai. Songjiang Town, the urban center of the ...

, the urban center of the district, was formerly the major city in the area. It is now connected to downtown Shanghai by Line 9 of the

Shanghai Metro The Shanghai Metro (; Shanghainese: ''Zaon6he5 Di6thiq7'') is a rapid transit system in Shanghai, operating urban and suburban transit services to 14 of its 16 List of township-level divisions of Shanghai, municipal districts and to the neighb ...

History

The

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

coastline of the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

was much farther inland, at Xinzhuang near Songjiang's current eastern border with

Minhang District Minhang District is a suburban district of Shanghai with a land area of and population of 2,653,489 residents as of 2020. The original Minhang consist of present-day Jiangchuan Road Subdistrict (Former Minhang Town) and the eastern strip of Wuji ...

. It was only gradually that silt from the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

filled in downtown Shanghai about 2000 years ago and then

Pudong Pudong is a list of administrative divisions of Shanghai, district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu River, Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank (g ...

and

Chongming Island Chongming (), Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanized as Chungming, is an alluvial island at the mouth of the Yangtze, Yangtze River in East China covering as of 2010. Together with the islands Changxing Island (Shanghai), Changxing an ...

over the last 1000 years. Modern

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

has established a chronology of the main cultural groups who lived in the present area of Songjiang District in

Neolithic China This is a list of Neolithic cultures of China that have been unearthed by archaeologists. They are sorted in chronological order from earliest to latest and are followed by a schematic visualization of these cultures. It would seem that the defi ...

: the

Majiabang The Majiabang culture, formerly also written Ma-chia-pang, was a Neolithic culture that occupied the Yangtze River Delta, primarily around Lake Tai west of modern Shanghai and north of Hangzhou Bay. The culture spread throughout southern Jiang ...

in the 5th millennium ), the

Songze The Songze Culture was a Neolithic culture that existed between 3800 and 3300 BCE in the Lake Tai area near Shanghai. Dates Three radiocarbon dates were taken from Songze culture layers at Jiangli near Lake Tai. Two of the dates were obtained f ...

in the 4th millennium), and the Liangzhu in the 3rd millennium. The Majiabang were among the first harvesters of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and kept domesticated

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

s while still frequently hunting

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

. The Liangzhu possessed a high stratified society that almost certainly represented one of the earliest states in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. The Liangzhu site at Guangfulin in Songjiang has been developed into Guangfulin Relics Park, an expansive museum and tourist attraction. File:Neolithic china.svg , A map of the main cultural groups in

File:Spatial distribution of rice, millet and mixed farming sites with a boundary of rice and millet and possible centers of agriculture.png , A map of the likely centers of early agriculture in China File:Guangfulinwenhuazhanshiguan.jpg , The main museum in Guangfulin Traditional Chinese historiography only recorded these people as among the

Baiyue The Baiyue, Hundred Yue, or simply Yue, were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of southern China and northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, body tattoos, fine swo ...

the "Numerous Southern Barbarians"until the growth of the siniticized Wu Kingdom at

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

in the 1st millennium. During the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

at the end of the Zhou and under the

Warring States The Warring States period in Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and struggles for gre ...

, the area of present-day Songjiang passed from Wu to Yue to

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the H ...

before the unification of China under

Shi Huangdi Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary dynasty in Chine ...

of Qin in the 3rd century. In the

Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...

that followed the end of the Han in the 3rd century,

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

's Wu Kingdom helped develop and further sinify the area. Another boost came from the completion of the Grand Canal under the Sui, linking Songjiang with

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

Shaoxing Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...

, and

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

in the south and

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

, and

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in the north. By the mid- Tang, the region had developed enough that it was organized in 751 into Huating County, the first county-level administration within modern-day Shanghai. File:方塔2.JPG , The Square Pagoda in Fangta Park, built between 1068 and 1077 File:Huzhuta.JPG ,

Huzhu Pagoda Huzhu Pagoda () is a Pagoda, Chinese pagoda located on Tianmashan Hill in the Songjiang District of Shanghai. It is known for its leaning angle, surpassing that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. History The tower was built in 1079 during the Northe ...

, a leaning tower on Tianma Hill built in 1079 Songjiang Qingzhensi.JPG , Songjiang Mosque after its 1391 rebuilding File:Entrace to Zuibaichi Park.jpg , The entrance to Zuibaichi, a

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

-era

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

in Songjiang In the 1250s at the end of the

Southern Song The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending ...

, the 10-year-old Songjiangese girl

Huang Daopo Huang Daopo (; 1245 – 1330) was a Chinese textile artist, who rose from poverty to become one of the most famous women in the early Chinese people, Chinese textile industry. Biography Huang was likely born around 1240 or 1245. Her family name w ...

fled her hometown and an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...

to live with the Hlai on

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

. She returned around 1295 with new strains of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

, an early

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

, and other advances to cotton cultivation and processing that made the sandy lands of eastern Huating County so much more prosperous that Huang was later

deified Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The origina ...

out of gratitude. By the mid-Qing, as much as ¾ of Songjiang's farmland was devoted to cotton. Under the Yuan, this new wealth saw Huating elevated to prefectural status and renamed Songjiangfu. This is sometimes considered the origin of China's modern

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

. It was also under the Yuan that the city first had enough

Hui The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the northwestern provinces and in the Zhongyuan region. According to the 2 ...

to establish Shanghai's first mosque. File:1664 Sungkiang detail of map of Huquang, Kiangsi, Che Kiang, ac Fokien by Jansson BPL 15928.png , A detail of

Jan Janszoon Jan Janszoon van Haarlem, commonly known as Reis Mourad the Younger (c. 1570 – c. 1641), was a Dutch pirate who later became a Barbary corsair in the Regency of Algiers and the Republic of Salé. After being captured by Algerian corsairs o ...

's 1664 map of

Huguang Huguang was a province of China during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was founded by the Yuan dynasty in 1274. During the Yuan dynasty it included the areas of modern Hubei south of the Yangtze river, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. During the Min ...

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, and

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

File:City of Songjiang in 1818.jpg , An map of early modern Songjiang (1818) showing the importance of its many canals File:Field of Campaigns of the Ever-Victorious Army 1860-1864.tif , A map of the canals around Songjiang during the 19th century File:阳华桥上眺望 8796.jpg , One of the canals today In 1404, headwaters previously emptying into the Wusong were rerouted by local officials, diminishing the size of

Suzhou Creek Suzhou Creek (or Soochow Creek), also called the Wusong (Woosung) River, is a river that passes through the Shanghai city center. It is named after the neighboring city of Suzhou (Soochow), Jiangsu, the predominant settlement in this area prior ...

and expanding the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its ...

to its modern importance. Songjiang was better fortified under the

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

in response to attacks by the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

"Wokou" pirates, who sometimes raided and sometimes occupied to the town. The Ming also saw the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

who counted the influential

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the city of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...

official

Xu Guangqi Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul or Paul Siu, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, scholar-bureaucrat, politician, and writer during the late Ming dynasty ...

among their convertsestablish the town's first known church. Owing to the importance of Portuguese and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

at the time, the town's name was romanized Sumkiam. File:Sung-kiang Fu (China's Spiritual Need and Claims, 1887).png , The city wall in the 1880s, following the battles of the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

File:松江府衙門樓.jpg , A restored gatehouse from Songjiang's Ming-era city wall File:Some events of Boston and its neighbors (1917) (14577209638).jpg , A Songjiang shrine to General Ward, founder of the

Ever-Victorious Army "Ever Victorious Army" () was a small imperial army that fought rebels in late-19th-century China. It was directed and trained by Europeans. The Ever Victorious Army fought for the Qing dynasty against the rebels of the Nian and Taiping Rebelli ...

File:Shanghai in Songjiang Prefecture 1754.jpg , The

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of Songjiang

Prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

under the Qing dynasty Following

Dorgon Dorgon (17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650) was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, which was the predecessor of the Qi ...

's 21 July 1645 edict mandating the queue, the people of Songjiang rose up against the

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

to protect their hair, viewed as a symbol of virility and

filial piety Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...

Li Chengdong Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political te ...

(, d. 1649) retook the city and massacred its population on 22 September 1645. Nonetheless, Songjiang remained the primary metropolis of the area of present-day Shanghai as late as the mid-19th century, when its name was typically

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

as Sungkiang. It continued to serve as the prefectural capital under the "Right" Governor of

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

based in

and then later under the governor of

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

at Jiangning (now

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

). Unlike the foreign-held area of Shanghai, however, it fell to rebels during the

's Eastern Expedition. About a hundred Europeans under

Frederick Townsend Ward Frederick Townsend Ward (; November 29, 1831September 22, 1862) was an American sailor and mercenary known for his military service in Imperial China during the Taiping Rebellion. He commanded the Ever Victorious Army, a joint Sino-foreign forc ...

failed to retake the town in June 1860. After gathering more Westerners, over 80

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

"Manilamen", and several pieces of

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, a second assault in July 1860 retook the town with heavy losses. Out of about 250 men, 62 were killed and about 100 wounded, including Ward. Songjiang was then used by Ward,

Henry Andres Burgevine Henry Andres Burgevine () (1836–1865) was an American sailor of French ancestry, mercenary and soldier of fortune, who became famous for his military victories for Imperial China during the Taiping Rebellion. Family According to Caleb Carr ...

, their

, and

Cheng Xueqi Cheng Xueqi (; courtesy name Fangzhong 方忠; born in Tongcheng, Anhui, (1828–1864) was a general of the Taiping Rebellion who surrendered to the Qing dynasty in 1861 with Ding Ruchang. He was an eminent Han Chinese official and a Captain ...

's division of the

Huai Army The Huai Army (), named for the Huai River, was a military force allied with the Qing dynasty raised to contain the Taiping Rebellion in 1862. It was also called the Anhui Army because it was based in Anhui province. It helped to restore the stabil ...

as a base for raids and attacks on other Taiping positions under

Li Xiucheng Li Xiucheng (; 1823 – August 7, 1864) was a military rebel commander opposing the Qing dynasty during the Taiping Rebellion. He was born to a peasant family. In 1864, he was captured and interrogated following the third and final Battle of ...

throughout the "

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai ( zh, t=淞滬會戰, s=淞沪会战, first=t, p=Sōng hù huìzhàn) was a major battle fought between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China in the Chinese city of Shanghai during ...

". Despite Shanghai's greater importance by the beginning of the 20th century, its international settlement meant Songjiang was still used as the formal center of Chinese government for the region. Under the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, the

Zhili clique The Zhili clique () was a military faction that split from the Republic of China's Beiyang Army during the country's Warlord Era. It was named for Zhili Province (modern-day Hebei), which was the clique's base of power. At its height, it also ...

leader

Sun Chuanfang Sun Chuanfang () (April 17, 1885 – November 13, 1935) was a Chinese warlord in the Zhili clique and protégé of the "Jade Marshal" Wu Peifu. Early life and education Sun Chuanfang was born in Licheng District, Jinan, Licheng, Shandong ...

's Songhu () or Songjiang Special Administrative District covered most of what is now Shanghai Municipality, extending as far north as

."Chongming County" in the ''Encyclopedia of Shanghai'', pp. 50 ff.
Shanghai Scientific & Technical Publishers (Shanghai), 2010. Hosted by the Municipality of Shanghai. File:上海天后宫.jpg , Tianfei Palace, an 1883

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

to the

sea goddess A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

, in Fangta Park, Songjiang File:Stairs She Shan Basilica 20050410.jpg ,

Sheshan Basilica The Basilica of Holy Mary, the Help of Christians (Latin: ''Basilicæ de Nostra Domina Mariæ Auxiliatricis Christianorum'') also known as the ''National Shrine of Our Mother of Sheshan'' () is a Roman Catholic Marian shrine in Shanghai, China. I ...

, constructed from 1924 to 1935 on She Hill File:Map showing Japanese-Chinese warfre (sic) now in Shanghai (2674774585).jpg , A 1932 map showing Sungkiang on Shanghai's southern railway File:Xilin Temple Overview, Songjiang Shanghai .jpeg , Xilin Temple after its 1980s reconstruction During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

occupied ' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

Songjiang from 9 November 1937 until 1945. Afterwards, both the Nationalist and Communist regional government was moved to Shanghai proper, leaving Songjiang a comparatively rural county. The city's many ancient religious structures and examples of traditional architecture were seriously damaged during the 1960s and 1970s amid the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. Following the PRC's

Opening Up Policy Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist market ...

, Songjiang restored its more important religious buildings and developed into a

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

hosting several large universities. In 1998, it was elevated to its current status as an

urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

Significant Features

Some of the notable features in Songjiang District include: * Songjiang New City is a major new-town development located within Songjiang District. It was developed as part of Shanghai's "One City, Nine Towns" plan. The New City will encompass an area of when completed, and will have a total population of 500,000 residents. The New City reflects Garden City design principles, with a large proportion of land allocated to green-space and parks. *

Thames Town Thames Town () is a new town in Songjiang District, about from central Shanghai. Completed in 2006, it is named after the River Thames, which flows through London, United Kingdom. The architecture is themed according to British market town styles. ...

is a residential and commercial development located within the Songjiang New City that both imitates and is influenced by classic English market town styles. Some of the architecture has been directly copied from buildings found in England. *

Songjiang University Town Songjiang University Town or Songjiang University City () is a tertiary education hub located in the outskirts of Shanghai in Songjiang District.http://www.shanghai.gov.cn/shanghai/node2314/node2315/node15343/userobject21ai447363.html, The unive ...

is a major higher education sector located in the district. It is the largest higher education sector in mainland China. * Shanghai First People's Hospital has a campus located within the Songjiang New City. *

Shanghai Film Studio The Shanghai Film Studio (), one of the three biggest film studios in China, is the film division of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation in Shanghai, China. It is responsible for the production of Chinese films and TV programs. History Shangh ...

s are located in Songjiang District. * InterContinental Hotel ''Shanghai Wonderland'' is built against the walls of a former quarry, and partly underwater: it claims to be the world's first underground five-star resort. Cultural sights in Songjiang include: *

Sheshan Hill Sheshan, known in Shanghainese as Zose, is a pair of hills in Songjiang District in western Shanghai, China. The two hills are distinguished as East and , although the more important western hill is also called Sheshan on its own. East Sheshan ...

with

* Fangta Park, one of the first celebrations of traditional Chinese architecture following the

, including the city's Square Pagoda and Mazu Temple *

on Tianmashan

Government and infrastructure

The Shanghai Women's Prison is in Songjiang District.Zhao, Wen.
Women behind bars meet their mothers

Archive
. ''

Shanghai Daily ''Shanghai Daily'' () is an English-language newspaper founded in 1999 and owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, a state media company under the control of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. It was the first dail ...

''. Saturday March 8, 2014. Retrieved on December 21, 2015.

Transport

Songjiang District is located approximately from

Hongqiao International Airport Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is one of two international airports serving Shanghai, China. The airport is located near the town of Hongqiao in the outskirts of Changning and Minhang districts, west of downtown, and is closer to ...

and from

Pudong International Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport is one of the two international airports serving Shanghai, China. Pudong Airport serves both international flights and a smaller number of domestic flights, while the city's other major airport, Shangha ...

. Songjiang is currently served by one metro line operated by

, one suburban line operated by

China Railway China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

, and two tram lines.

Metro

* -

Songjiang South Railway Station Shanghai Songjiang railway station (, formerly Songjiang South railway station) is a railway station on the Shanghai–Hangzhou high-speed railway and Shanghai–Suzhou–Huzhou high-speed railway located in Songjiang District, Shanghai, China. ...

, Zuibaichi Park, Songjiang Sports Center, Songjiang Xincheng,

, Dongjing, Sheshan, Sijing, Jiuting

Suburban Rail

* - Chunshen, Xinqiao, Chedun, Yexie

China Railway

* Shanghai Songjiang * Songjiang North

Songjiang Tram

* Line T1 * Line T2

Subdistricts and towns

Songjiang District has six subdistricts, eleven towns and three special township-level divisions.

Climate

Attractions

Xilin Chan Temple is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

in Yueyang Subdistrict, which is also a famous tourist attraction. Zuibaichi is one of the five ancient Chinese gardens in Shanghai that dates back to the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. The Songjiang Mosque is the oldest mosque in Shanghai with its latest rebuild in 1391. Songjiang's emblematic tower is the 9-story Fangta Pagoda, or

Songjiang Square Pagoda The Songjiang Square Pagoda or Songjiang Fangta, officially the Xingshengjiao Temple Pagoda, is a Buddhist pagoda in the old town of Songjiang in suburban Shanghai. Originally built in the 11th century, it is the only structure remaining from t ...

. Dacang Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge over the Old City River in the district. Songjiang Tangjing Building is located in the Zhongshan Primary School, Songjiang District and it is the oldest surviving above-ground relic in Shanghai built in 859 AD.

is a Roman Catholic church built on Sheshan Hill in the Romanesque architectural style. Originally constructed in 1863, the current church was finished in 1935.

Notable people

Birthplace: *

Han Bangqing Han Bangqing (; 1856–1894),Downer, Lesley." ''The New York Times''. November 20, 2005. Retrieved on March 27, 2015. also known by the given name Ji (寄), courtesy name Ziyun (子雲), and pseudonyms Taixian (太仙), Dayi Shanren (大一山人) ...

– Author of '' The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai'' (Lou County, Songjiang Prefecture)Wang, David Der-wei. "Foreword." In:

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

br>PT9
Heroes: Hou Shaoqiu, Jiang Huilin, Xia Yunyi, Chen Zilong, Xia Wanchun; Statesmen: Gu Yong, Lu Xun, Xu Jie; Litterateurs: Lu Ji, Lu Yun, Chen Jiru, Qian Fu, Gu Qing; Chinese Painting and Calligraphy (Songjiang was listed among "cities of Calligraphy" in 2013) Artists: Shen Du,

Dong Qichang Dong Qichang (; courtesy name Xuanzai (玄宰); 1555–1636) was a Chinese art theorist, Calligraphy, calligrapher, Painting, painter, and politician of the later period of the Ming dynasty. Life as a scholar and calligrapher Dong Qichang was a ...

, Zhang Nanheng, Zhang Zhao, Shi Zhecun, Cheng Shifa; Craftsmen: Zhu Kerou, Huang Daopo, Ding Niangzi; Experts: Tao Zongyi, Zhu Shunshui, Chen Yongkang; Educators: He Dong, Ping Hailan, Ma Xiangru; Intelligent woman: Ye Gu.

References

External links

Songjiang Official Local Government WebsiteDowntown Songjiang - English travel guide of Songjiang
{{coord, 31, 00, 21, N, 121, 14, 00, E, region:CN-31_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title Districts of Shanghai National Civilized City

History

Significant Features

Government and infrastructure

Transport

Metro

Suburban Rail

China Railway

Songjiang Tram

Subdistricts and towns

Climate

Attractions

Notable people

References

Further reading

External links