Songjiang, Shanghai

Songjiang
松江区; 松江區
District
Songjiang in Shanghai
Songjiang in Shanghai
CountryPeople's Republic of China
MunicipalityShanghai
Area
 • Total
605.64 km2 (233.84 sq mi)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
1,909,713
 • Density3,153.2/km2 (8,166.8/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Songjiang
Songjiang District
Traditional Chinese松江區
Simplified Chinese松江区
Wugniuson1 kaon1 chiu1
Literal meaningPine River District
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSōngjiāng qū
Wade–GilesSung-chiang Ch'ü
Wu
Wugniuson1 kaon1 chiu1
IPAShanghainese: [soŋ˥ kɑ̃˧ tɕy˨]
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingcung4 gong1 keoi1
Songjiang County
Traditional Chinese松江縣
Simplified Chinese松江县
Wugniuson1 kaon1 yoe6
Literal meaningPine River County
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSōngjiāng xiàn
Wade–GilesSung-chiang Hsien
Wu
Wugniuson1 kaon1 yoe6
IPAShanghainese: [soŋ˥ kɑ̃˧ ɦyø˨]
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingcung4 gong1 jyun6
Songjiang Prefecture
Chinese松江府
Wugniuson1 kaon1 fu3
PostalSungkiang
Sungkiang Foo
Literal meaningPine River Prefecture
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSōngjiāng fǔ
Wade–GilesSung-chiang Fu
Wu
Wugniuson1 kaon1 fu3
IPAShanghainese: [soŋ˥ kɑ̃˧ fu˨]
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingcung4 gong1 fu2
Huating County
Traditional Chinese華亭縣
Simplified Chinese华亭县
Wugniugho2 din2 yoe6
Literal meaningOrnate Pavilian County
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinHuátíng xiàn
Wade–GilesHua-t'ing Hsien
Wu
Wugniugho2 din2 yoe6
IPAShanghainese: [ɦo˩ din˦ fu˩]
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingwaa4 ting4 jyun6
Yunjian
Traditional Chinese雲間
Simplified Chinese云间
Literal meaningBetween the Clouds
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinYúnjiān
Wade–GilesYün-chien
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingwan4 gaan1

Songjiang is a suburban district (formerly a county) of Shanghai. It has a land area of 605.64 km2 (233.84 sq mi) and a population of 1,909,713 (2020).

Songjiang Town, 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.

History

The Neolithic cultural sequence in the Songjiang area can be traced back to the Songze culture. Excavations at Guangfulin have yielded both Liangzhu-style jade objects and Longshan-style black pottery, indicating contact between the two traditions. During the Spring and Autumn period at the end of the Zhou and under the Warring States, the area of present-day Songjiang passed from Wu to Yue to Chu before the Qin's unification of China in the 3rd century bc.

By the mid-Tang, Huating County was created in 751 as the first county whose seat lay within the territory of present-day Shanghai.

In 1277, owing to its large population, Huating County was elevated to prefectural status and renamed Songjiang Prefecture in the next year. In the early 1290s five townships in the eastern part of the prefecture were separated to form Shanghai County, which remained under Songjiang's jurisdiction.

Around the turn of the 14th century, cotton cultivation and advanced textile techniques—traditionally attributed to Huang Daopo following her return from Hainan—spread from the Shanghai area throughout the Yangtze Delta, establishing cotton as the region's principal cash crop.

In 1367 the Ming regime imposed heavy brick levies on the Yangtze Delta for the construction of the Nanjing city walls, assigning Songjiang a quota of 90 million bricks. Local resistance led by the landlord Qian Hegao (錢鶴臯) briefly captured the prefectural seat before being suppressed.

The soil and hydrological conditions of the eastern coastal zone were poorly suited to rice. In the 15th century fiscal reforms further encouraged the cotton industry of the prefecture: cotton was formally included in tax assessments in 1433, and after 1486 the partial commutation of in-kind taxes into silver led peasant households to sell hand-woven cloth on the market.

Songjiang Prefecture ranked second only to Suzhou in the size of its tax quota during the Ming. The combined quota of its three counties was roughly equal to that of the entire province of Guangdong in the mid-Ming. The state also confiscated large estates and converted them into official land (guantian); by the mid-Ming more than 80 percent of the prefecture's arable land was classified as official land.

The Ming coastal-defence system in the prefecture consisted of five principal outposts—Chuansha, Nanhui, Qingcun, Zhelin and Jinshan (seat of the Jinshan Guard). Forty-seven recorded wokou raids occurred within the prefecture, the majority during the Jiajing reign (1522–1566). In response the authorities strengthened local defences.

In the late Ming, Songjiang was a centre of Chinese painting. Dong Qichang was its most prominent figure; other artists associated with the prefecture included Gu Zhengyi, Zhao Zuo and Shen Shichong. These painters are sometimes grouped into the Su-Song, Huating and Yunjian schools. In 1629 the scholars including Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi founded the Ji Society (Jishe, 幾社), a regional branch of the Revival Society linked to the Yunjian Poetic School.

Following the collapse of the Southern Ming Hongguang regime in 1645, Qing forces under defected commander Li Chengdong (李成棟) occupied Songjiang Prefecture and suppressed gentry-led local resistance. In 1647, Chen conspired with Qing garrison commander Wu Shengzhao (吳勝兆) in a mutiny backed by coastal loyalist forces. The plot was exposed and the mutiny failed; Wu was executed, and Chen drowned himself while being escorted under arrest.

Songjiang was typically romanized as Sungkiang. It continued to serve as the prefectural capital under the "Right" Governor of Jiangnan based in Suzhou and then later under the governor of Jiangsu at Jiangning (now Nanjing). Unlike the foreign-held area of Shanghai, however, it fell to rebels during the Taiping Rebellion's Eastern Expedition. About a hundred Europeans under Frederick Townsend Ward failed to retake the town in June 1860. After gathering more Westerners, over 80 Philippine "Manilamen", and several pieces of artillery, 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, their Ever-Victorious Army, and Cheng Xueqi's division of the Huai Army as a base for raids and attacks on other Taiping positions under Li Xiucheng throughout the "Battle of Shanghai".

Following the 1912 abolition of prefectures, Lou County was merged into Huating, which was renamed Songjiang in 1914 to avoid duplication with its namesake in Gansu. In the early 1930s, the Jiangsu provincial government established the Songjiang Administrative Inspection District (initially the Fourth District), with Songjiang as its seat, administering the surrounding counties of Qingpu, Jinshan, and Fengxian. Following subsequent administrative reorganizations, it was redesignated as the Third District, expanding its jurisdiction to include Nanhui, Chuansha, and Shanghai counties while retaining its seat at Songjiang, before Baoshan, Jiading, and Chongming counties (which then included the Shengsi Islands) were further incorporated in 1945.

During World War II, Japan occupied 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. Following the PRC's Opening Up Policy, Songjiang restored its more important religious buildings and developed into a college town hosting several large universities. In 1998, it was elevated to its current status as an urban district.

Significant features

Some of the notable features in Songjiang District include:

Cultural sights in Songjiang include:

Government and infrastructure

The People's Government of Songjiang, Shanghai is located on No. 1 Yuanzhong Road.

The Shanghai Women's Prison is in Songjiang District.

Transport

Songjiang District is located approximately 25 kilometers (16 mi) from Hongqiao International Airport and 70 kilometers (43 mi) from Pudong International Airport. Songjiang is currently served by one metro line operated by Shanghai Metro, one suburban line operated by China Railway, and two tram lines.

Metro

Suburban rail

Railway stations

Songjiang tram

Buses

Highways

Subdistricts and towns

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

Name Chinese (S) Hanyu Pinyin Shanghainese Romanization Population (2010) Area (km2)
Yueyang Subdistrict 岳阳街道 Yuèyáng Jiēdào ngoq yan ka do 112,671 5.65
Yongfeng Subdistrict 永丰街道 Yǒngfēng Jiēdào ion fon ka do 93,330 24.53
Zhongshan Subdistrict 中山街道 Zhōngshān Jiēdào tzon se ka do 98,888 26.34
Fangsong Subdistrict 方松街道 Fāngsōng Jiēdào faon son ka do 414,548 14.76
Guangfulin Subdistrict 广富林街道 Guǎngfùlín Jiēdào kuaon fu lin ka do 19.05
Jiuliting Subdistrict 九里亭街道 Jiǔlǐtíng Jiēdào cioe lij din ka do 6.79
Chedun town 车墩镇 Chēdūn Zhèn tsau ten tzen 167,687 45.30
Dongjing town 洞泾镇 Dòngjīng Zhèn don cin tzen 57,861 24.51
Jiuting town 九亭镇 Jiǔtíng Zhèn cioe din tzen 147,398 26.13
Maogang town 泖港镇 Mǎogǎng Zhèn mo kaon tzen 41,626 57.62
Sheshan town 佘山镇 Shéshān Zhèn sau se tzen 32,295 55.70
Shihudang town 石湖荡镇 Shíhúdàng Zhèn zaq wu daon tzen 44,011 44.28
Sijing town 泗泾镇 Sìjīng Zhèn sy cin tzen 94,279 23.98
Xiaokunshan town 小昆山镇 Xiǎokūnshān Zhèn sio khuen se tzen 51,606 30.52
Xinbang town 新浜镇 Xīnbāng Zhèn sin pan tzen 33,627 44.75
Xinqiao town 新桥镇 Xīnqiáo Zhèn sin djio tzen 155,856 31.43
Yexie town 叶榭镇 Yèxiè Zhèn yiq zia tzen 80,104 72.49
Sheshan Resort 佘山度假区 Shéshān Dùjiàqū sau se du ka chiu 42,583 64.08
Shanghai Songjiang Export Processing Zone 上海松江出口加工区 Shànghǎi Sōngjiāng Chūkǒu Jiāgōngqū zaon he son kaon tseq khoe ka kon chiu 60,797 2.98
Songjiang Industrial Zone 松江工业区 Sōngjiāng Gōngyèqū son kaon kon gniq chiu 43.69

Climate

Climate data for Songjiang District, elevation 8 m (26 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.3
(73.9)		 27.0
(80.6)		 31.8
(89.2)		 33.1
(91.6)		 37.9
(100.2)		 37.6
(99.7)		 40.3
(104.5)		 41.2
(106.2)		 37.0
(98.6)		 36.0
(96.8)		 29.7
(85.5)		 24.0
(75.2)		 41.2
(106.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 8.5
(47.3)		 10.7
(51.3)		 15.5
(59.9)		 21.3
(70.3)		 26.0
(78.8)		 28.6
(83.5)		 33.5
(92.3)		 33.0
(91.4)		 28.8
(83.8)		 23.8
(74.8)		 18.1
(64.6)		 11.3
(52.3)		 21.6
(70.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.9
(40.8)		 6.7
(44.1)		 10.8
(51.4)		 16.2
(61.2)		 21.4
(70.5)		 24.7
(76.5)		 29.3
(84.7)		 29.1
(84.4)		 24.9
(76.8)		 19.7
(67.5)		 14.0
(57.2)		 7.2
(45.0)		 17.4
(63.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.0
(35.6)		 3.5
(38.3)		 7.2
(45.0)		 12.3
(54.1)		 17.7
(63.9)		 21.9
(71.4)		 26.2
(79.2)		 26.3
(79.3)		 22.0
(71.6)		 16.2
(61.2)		 10.6
(51.1)		 3.9
(39.0)		 14.2
(57.5)
Record low °C (°F) −10.5
(13.1)		 −9.0
(15.8)		 −5.2
(22.6)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 5.8
(42.4)		 12.0
(53.6)		 17.0
(62.6)		 17.8
(64.0)		 10.2
(50.4)		 1.0
(33.8)		 −3.6
(25.5)		 −8.7
(16.3)		 −10.5
(13.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 70.4
(2.77)		 66.2
(2.61)		 96.5
(3.80)		 85.1
(3.35)		 94.9
(3.74)		 206.4
(8.13)		 135.7
(5.34)		 171.9
(6.77)		 107.8
(4.24)		 66.0
(2.60)		 58.2
(2.29)		 50.8
(2.00)		 1,209.9
(47.64)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 11.1 10.5 13.2 11.9 11.8 14.5 11.4 12.3 10.2 7.4 9.1 8.5 131.9
Average snowy days 2.1 1.7 0.6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 0.7 5.3
Average relative humidity (%) 76 75 74 73 75 81 79 79 78 75 76 73 76
Mean monthly sunshine hours 109.3 112.8 138.6 162.5 168.6 123.0 204.8 200.7 159.7 154.7 127.2 123.6 1,785.5
Percentage possible sunshine 34 36 37 42 40 29 48 49 43 44 40 39 40
Source: China Meteorological Administration all-time September Record High All-time October high

Attractions

Xilin Chan Temple is a Buddhist temple 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 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.

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.

Sheshan Basilica 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

References

  1. ↑ "China: Shànghăi (Districts) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  2. ↑ Shanghai 2010 Census Data Archived 2014-04-03 at the Wayback Machine Shanghai Statistics Bureau
  3. ↑ Gao, Menghe; Pan, Bihua (2019). "上海冈身以西史前遗址分布东缘线的东扩" [Eastward Expansion of the Eastern Boundary Line of Prehistoric Site Distribution West of the Gangshen Ridges in Shanghai]. 历史地理研究 [Historical Geography Research] (in Chinese). 39 (2): 6–14. ISSN 2096-6822.
  4. ↑ Hsu, Cho-Yun (2025). Reorienting China: the landscape of Chinese civilization. Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-988-237-279-5.
  5. ↑ Nishijima, Sadao (1984). "The Formation of the Early Chinese Cotton Industry". In Grove, Linda; Daniels, Christian (eds.). State and Society in China: Japanese Perspectives on Ming-Qing Social and Economic History. University of Tokyo Press. pp. 17–78. ISBN 978-0860083566.
  6. ↑ Lu, Hanchao (1992-10-01). "Arrested Development: Cotton and Cotton Markets in Shanghai, 1350-1843". Modern China. 18 (4): 468–499. doi:10.1177/009770049201800404. ISSN 0097-7004.
  7. ↑ Mori, Masao (1967). "14世紀後半浙西地方の地主制に関する覚書" [Notes on the Landlord System in the ZhEXI Region in the Latter Half of the 14th Century] (PDF). 名古屋大学文学部研究論集（史学）[Nagoya University Journal of the School of Humanities (History)] (in Japanese). 15. School of Humanities, Nagoya University.
  8. ↑ Brook, Timothy (1998). The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-22154-3.
  9. ↑ Mori, Masao (1988). 明代江南土地制度の研究 [Studies on the Land System of Jiangnan in the Ming Dynasty]. Tōyōshi Kenkyū Sōkan (in Japanese). Vol. 42. Dohosha. ISBN 978-4810406672.
  10. ↑ Huang, Ray (1975). Taxation and Governmental Finance in Sixteenth-Century Ming China. Cambridge University Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0521202831.
  11. ↑ Mori, Masao (1988). 明代江南土地制度の研究 [Studies on the Land System of Jiangnan in the Ming Dynasty]. Tōyōshi Kenkyū Sōkan (in Japanese). Vol. 42. Dohosha. ISBN 978-4810406672.
  12. ↑ Chen, Boyi (2023). 防海之道：明代南直隶海防研究 [The Way of Coastal Defense: A Study of the Coastal Defense of Nanzhili in the Ming Dynasty] (in Chinese). Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press.
  13. ↑ Lin, Wei-kai (2010). 明代的江海聯防：長江江海交會水域防衛的建構與備禦 [River-Sea Joint Defense in the Ming Dynasty: Construction and Defense of the Confluence Waters of the Yangtze River and the Sea] (in Chinese). Taipei: Huamulan Cultural Publishing. pp. 61–71, 279–80. ISBN 978-986-254-247-7.
  14. ↑ Cahill, James (1982). Distant Mountains: Chinese Painting of the Late Ming Dynasty, 1570–1644. Weatherhill. pp. 63–128. ISBN 978-0-8348-0174-5.
  15. ↑ Chang, Kang-i Sun (1991). The Late-Ming Poet Ch'en Tzu-lung: Crises of Love and Loyalism. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-04872-8.
  16. ↑ Wakeman, Frederic E. (1985). The great enterprise: the Manchu reconstruction of imperial order in seventeenth-century China. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 654–5. ISBN 978-0-520-04804-1.
  17. ↑ Fu, Linxiang; Zheng, Baoheng (2017). 中国行政区划通史·中华民国卷 [General History of Chinese Administrative Divisions: Volume on the Republic of China] (in Chinese). Shanghai: Fudan University Press. pp. 159, 163–6. ISBN 978-7-309-12704-1.
  18. ↑ Lin, Zhongjie (2025). Constructing Utopias: China's New Town Movement in the 21st Century. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-779330-5.
  19. ↑ Shanghai Agriculture - The construction of Shanghai's experimental city, Songjiang "Welcome to Shanghai Agriculture!". Archived from the original on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
  20. ↑ Travel, Telegraph (24 February 2017). "50 of the world's most unusual hotels". Telegraph.
  21. ↑ "上海市松江区人民政府". www.songjiang.gov.cn (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on 2025-07-01. Retrieved 2025-07-14.
  22. ↑ Zhao, Wen. "Women behind bars meet their mothers" (Archive). Shanghai Daily. Saturday March 8, 2014. Retrieved on December 21, 2015.
  23. ↑ "9号线线路图". 上海地铁. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  24. ↑ 2010年松江区行政区划_松江区_行政区划网 www.xzqh.org (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH. Archived from the original on 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  25. ↑ Census Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China; Population and Employment Statistics Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China (2012). 中国2010人口普查分乡、镇、街道资料 (1 ed.). Beijing: China Statistics Print. ISBN 978-7-5037-6660-2.
  26. ↑ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  27. ↑ "Experience Template" 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  28. ↑ "Sina Visitor System" 【高温】今天浙江站点包揽高温榜前十，包括杭州在内，江浙沪有11站打破9月最高气流纪录，诸暨为观测史最晚40℃。未来因为北方有冷空气南下，南边有台风上来，副热带高压腹背受敌，有所减弱，未来5天的高温区也会缩减。不过明天高温还是不少，南昌会继续刷新全年高温日数最多纪录，杭州明天预计最高39℃，有可能出现纪录双响炮——连续36天高温破观测史最长纪录，刷新今天刚创造的9月最高气温纪录。 (in Simplified Chinese). weatherman_信欣 on Weibo. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  29. ↑ "Sina Visitor System" 【离谱的气温】今天南方高温继续发展，福建江西浙江站点包揽高温榜前十，上榜门槛提升到了38.2℃，福建建宁39.3℃排名第一。浙江上海安徽四川云南有28站气温打破10月最高气温纪录。杭州福州南昌长沙南京武汉上海共7个省会直辖市，创最晚高温日纪录。杭州南昌武汉上海刷新1951年以来全年高温日数最多纪录。南昌未来7天高温不断，今年高温日数将达到80天，就算兑现5天，高温日数也将达到78天，将创造新的省会首府直辖市全年高温日数纪录——2022年福州74天，已经觉得不可思议，2024年重庆77天，感觉是神迹。结果转眼今年又要见证新纪录诞生。而且福州未来再加5天，也将达到75天，创造当地全年高温日数新纪录。并且南方未来多个城市的高温，也将继续改写最晚高温日纪录。武汉长沙福州报出12日还有高温，杭州和南昌在13日还有高温。而且看最低气温，南昌和杭州报7日晨28℃，也是10月罕见，可能破纪录。总之，异常强的副热带高压，让南方热得一点不像10月，依然像盛夏的7-8月。而北方地区，在冷空气和阴雨影响，气温明显偏低，并创立秋后新低。白天最高气温的偏低程度尤其明显。华北等地，8-9日的白天，冷得也不像10月，更像11月。总之，未来气温就是主打一个离谱，南方热到怀疑人生，北方冷得有些发蒙。 (in Simplified Chinese). weatherman_信欣 on Weibo. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  30. ↑ Wang, David Der-wei. "Foreword." In: Han Bangqing (2005). The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231122689. Google Books PT9.

Further reading

31°00′21″N 121°14′00″E / 31.00583°N 121.23333°E / 31.00583; 121.23333