Songjiang District

Songjiang 松江区
District
Songjiang Guangfulin Relics Park, containing the historical site of the Guangfulin Culture dated over 5,000 years ago.
Songjiang in Shanghai
Country	China
Region	Shanghai
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)

Songjiang District
Simplified Chinese	松江区
Traditional Chinese	松江區
Postal	Sungkiang
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sōngjiāng Qū Wu Shanghainese Romanization son kaon chiu

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 1,582,398 (2010). Owing to a long history, Songjiang is known as the cultural root of Shanghai.

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

About 7000 years ago, people living in Songjiang created four types of unique culture: Majiabang Culture, Songze Culture, Liangzhu Culture and Guangfulin Culture, which laid a solid foundation of multicultural characteristics of Shanghai Culture. Songjiang was formerly known as Huating County (华亭县) and was part of Jiangsu province.

In AD 751, during the mid-Tang Dynasty, Huating County was established at modern-day Songjiang, the first county-level administration within modern-day Shanghai.

In the Yuan Dynasty, Huating County was raised to prefecture status and changed its name to Songjiang Prefecture (松江府).

Under the Republic, the Songjiang Special Administration District extended as far as Chongming Island in northern Shanghai.

In 1998, the current Songjiang District was established.

Climate

It has a humid subtropical climate and experiences four distinct seasons. Winters are chilly and damp, and cold northwesterly winds from Siberia can cause nighttime temperatures to drop below freezing, although most years there are only one or two days of snowfall. Summers are hot and humid, with an average of 8.7 days exceeding 35 °C (95 °F) annually; occasional downpours or freak thunderstorms can be expected. It is also susceptible to typhoons in summer and the beginning of autumn, none of which in recent years has caused considerable damage. The most pleasant seasons are spring, although changeable and often rainy, and autumn, which is generally sunny and dry. It averages 4.2 °C (39.6 °F) in January and 27.9 °C (82.2 °F) in July, for an annual mean of 16.1 °C (61.0 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 34% in March to 54% in August, it receives 1,895 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extreme temperatures within the municipality range from 40.8 °C (105 °F) on 7 August 2013, down to −12.1 °C (10 °F) on 19 January 1893.

Cultural Significant Features

As the cultural root of Shanghai, Songjiang preserves brilliant and unique prehistoric, ancient and modern cultural significant features.

In the prehistoric period, there formed Majiabang Culture, Songze Culture, Liangzhu Culture and Guangfulin Culture in Songjiang. The recent unearthed farming and working tools as well as rice and animal remains proved that people living in Songjiang at that time had already known how to plough the farming land, which pushed the primitive agricultural society forward to a more civilized one.

At the beginning of the 21st century, discoveries in Songjiang Guangfulin Cultural Relics made great contribution to archaeology. Firstly, it clearly divided the primitive society into types like Songze Cultural, Liangzhu Cultural and Guangfulin Cultural, which was considered to be the cultural relics of New Stone Era in Taihu area; secondly, immigrants from the Yellow River were conformed to be the first group of immigrants coming Shanghai; thirdly, there were towns in Shanghai dating back to as far as Zhou Dynasty; fourthly, two unique types of houses in primitive society were found: stilt house and ground house.

As time passed by, there were two important periods in the ancient Chinese society: the Western Jin Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, characterized by the following four significant cultural features:

1.Originality

Excellent cultural environment in Songjiang cultivated a great number of elites, represented by litterateurs like Lu Ji and Lu Yun in the Western Jin Dynasty, Chinese painters like Dong Qichang in the Ming Dynasty and writers like Tao Zongyi in the Yuan Dynasty. They all created revolutionary and practical theories into their fields, making great contribution to the further development of Chinese art and literature, and were known to us for their originality and creativity.

2.Inclusivity

There were many kinds of art and literature schools in Songjiang, and three historical immigrants from the northern part of China, respectively taking place at the end of Jin Dynasty, mid-Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, brought along northern culture and stimulated the cultural kindness and inclusivity of Songjiang. In addition, when the five biggest religions in China are growing bigger and bigger and get along with each other in Songjiang, they learned from not only other religions but also unique culture in Songjiang and formed their special characteristics, which shows the cultural inclusivity in Songjiang culture.

3.Guidingness

A famous art and literature school---Yunjian rooted and gained its fame here. Yunjian school represents both ancient literature and modern ones, combing practical ideas with ideal ones, which has a profound influence on the development of ancient Chinese poetry, painting and calligraphy. Its representatives are Chen Zilong, Chen Wen, Mo Shilong, Dong Qichang and Lu Ji.

4.radiativity

From the beginning of ancient Chinese imperial examinations at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Songjiang had cultivated all together 521 Jinshi, successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations, which was a rare scene in the Chinese examination history. These successful candidates, being high government officials, all made great contributions to the country. Songjiang also has great influence on the development of newspaper, cotton manufacturing and agriculture.

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 60 square kilometers (23 sq mi) 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 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 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 Studios are located in Songjiang District.

Cultural sights in Songjiang include:

• Sheshan Hill with Sheshan Basilica
• Huzhu Pagoda on Tianmashan

Government and infrastructure

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.

Metro

Songjiang is currently served by one metro lines operated by Shanghai Metro one suburban line operated by China Railways:

• - Songjiang South Railway Station, Zuibaichi, Songjiang Sports Center, Songjiang Xincheng, Songjiang University Town, Dongjing, Sheshan, Sijing, Jiuting
• - Chunshen, Xinqiao, Chedun, Yexie

Subdistricts and towns

Further information: List of township-level divisions of Shanghai

Name	Chinese (S)	Hanyu Pinyin	Shanghainese Romanization	Population (2010)
Yueyang Subdistrict	岳阳街道	Yuèyáng Jiēdào	ngoq yan ka do	112,671
Yongfeng Subdistrict	永丰街道	Yǒngfēng Jiēdào	ion fon ka do	93,330
Zhongshan Subdistrict	中山街道	Zhōngshān Jiēdào	tzon se ka do	98,888
Fangsong Subdistrict	方松街道	Fāngsōng Jiēdào	faon son ka do	414,548
Guangfulin Subdistrict	广富林街道	Guǎngfùlín Jiēdào	kuaon fu lin ka do
Jiuliting Subdistrict	九里亭街道	Jiǔlǐtíng Jiēdào	cioe lij din ka do
Jiuting Town	九亭镇	Jiǔtíng Zhèn	cioe din tzen
Sijing Town	泗泾镇	Sìjīng Zhèn	sy cin tzen	94,279
Sheshan Town	佘山镇	Shéshān Zhèn	sau se tzen	75,507
Sheshan Resort	佘山度假区	Shéshān Dùjiàqū	sau se du ka chiu
Chedun Town	车墩镇	Chēdūn Zhèn	tsau ten tzen	167,687
Xinqiao Town	新桥镇	Xīnqiáo Zhèn	sin djio tzen	155,856
Dongjing Town	洞泾镇	Dòngjīng Zhèn	don cin tzen	57,861
Maogang Town	泖港镇	Mǎogǎng Zhèn	mo kaon tzen	41,626
Shihudang Town	石湖荡镇	Shíhúdàng Zhèn	zaq wu daon tzen	44,011
Xinbang Town	新浜镇	Xīnbāng Zhèn	sin pan tzen	33,627
Yexie Town	叶榭镇	Yèxiè Zhèn	yiq zia tzen	80,104
Xiaokunshan Town	小昆山镇	Xiǎokūnshān Zhèn	sio khuen se tzen	51,606
Songjiang Industrial Zone	松江工业区	Sōngjiāng Gōngyèqū	son kaon kon gniq chiu	60,797
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

Notable people

Birthplace:

• Han Bangqing - Author of The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai (Lou County, Songjiang Prefecture)

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 Artists: Shen Du, Dong Qichang, 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.

External links

• Songjiang Official Local Government Website
• Downtown Songjiang - English travel guide of Songjiang