Get to know Songjiang District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Shanghai
- Chinese name
- 松江区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 605.64 km²
- Population · 2020
- 1,909,713
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History
The area's old name is Huating (华亭). Huating County was set up in 751 under the Tang, raised to a prefecture in 1277 and renamed Songjiang Prefecture the next year. Through the Ming and Qing the prefecture seat was here, and the prefecture covered most of present-day Shanghai south of Suzhou Creek (苏州河), including Shanghai County itself. The prefecture was abolished in 1912 and its Huating and Lou (娄县) counties were merged; the merged county took the Songjiang name in 1914, it moved from Jiangsu to Shanghai in November 1958, and it became a district in 1998.
Settlement is much older. Xinmin Weekly writes that people lived here 6,000 years ago and that around 4,000 years ago migrants from the Yellow River basin joined them, creating the Guangfulin culture (广富林文化), which fills the gap between the Liangzhu (良渚) and Maqiao (马桥) cultures. The Western Jin writer Lu Ji (陆机), whose calligraphy piece Pingfu Tie (平复帖) is one of the treasures of the Palace Museum, came from Songjiang, and the calligrapher Dong Qichang (董其昌) is among the district's famous names.
Setting and landscape
Songjiang is part of the Yangtze delta plain at the bottom of the saucer-shaped Lake Tai basin. The ground is flat, slightly higher in the east and south and low-lying in the west and north, and a dozen or so small hills rise in the north-west. The district borders Qingpu to the west and north, Jinshan to the south and Minhang and Fengxian to the east.
What to see
Xinmin Weekly names the Tang-dynasty dharani pillar (松江唐经幢) as the oldest surviving building above ground in Shanghai and Zuibaichi (醉白池) as Shanghai's oldest garden. Other old monuments include the Xingsheng Temple pagoda (兴圣教寺塔), Xilin Temple (西林禅寺) and the Guangfulin site (广富林遗址). On the Sheshan (佘山) hills, West Sheshan (西佘山) in Sheshan National Forest Park (佘山国家森林公园) carries the Basilica of Our Lady of Sheshan (佘山进教之佑圣母大殿) and the Sheshan observatory; the Shanghai 65-metre radio telescope stands in Sheshan town. Other sights include Fangta Park (方塔园), Chenshan Botanical Garden (辰山植物园), Thames Town (泰晤士小镇) and Happy Valley (上海欢乐谷).
The Songjiang Museum (松江博物馆) holds more than 5,000 objects. Its prize is a Ming stele of the Jijiuzhang (急就章) text carved in regular and draft-cursive script side by side, and its corridors hold further calligraphy steles by Dong Qichang and Zhao Mengfu (赵孟頫).
Food and local products
Songjiang's intangible cultural heritage includes Yexie soft rice cake (叶榭软糕), alongside Gu embroidery (顾绣), the grass-dragon dance (舞草龙) and shadow puppetry. Songjiang rice (松江大米) is a Chinese geographical-indication product.
Highlights
- Tang dharani pillar 松江唐经幢: Named by Xinmin Weekly as the oldest surviving building above ground in Shanghai.
- Zuibaichi 醉白池: Garden described by Xinmin Weekly as the oldest in Shanghai.
- Sheshan 佘山: Hill in the forest park with a Catholic basilica and an observatory on West Sheshan.
- Songjiang Museum 松江博物馆: Holds over 5,000 objects, including a Ming stele of the Jijiuzhang text.
- Yexie soft rice cake 叶榭软糕: Rice cake listed among Songjiang's intangible cultural heritage.
Sources for this guide
松江区 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Chinese Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
追溯上海历史之根，回味生态岛前世今生 - 新民周刊 · Xinmin Weekly
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Songjiang District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Songjiang District
The basilica and historic observatory above wooded West Sheshan, Shanghai. Photographed on 21 August 2010.Sheshan佘山
Sheshan consists of wooded eastern and western hills in Songjiang. The western hill combines a Catholic pilgrimage landscape with the historic observatory.
Read the place guide →
Lake and Chenshan hill within Chenshan Botanical Garden · 辰山植物园 Photograph date recorded by the source: 30 April 2020.Chenshan Botanical Garden辰山植物园
Chenshan Botanical Garden occupies a broad landscape in Sheshan, Songjiang. Its botanical collections are organized into themed gardens and greenhouse displays, with conservation areas forming another part of the site.
Read the place guide →
Guangfulin Cultural Relics Park · 广富林文化遗址Guangfulin Cultural Relics Park广富林文化遗址
Guangfulin Cultural Relics Park is in northern Songjiang, Shanghai. The archaeological heritage is central to the district’s presentation of Shanghai’s early history. The visitor site began trial operation in June 2018 and…
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Pavilion and old trees in Zuibaichi Garden · 醉白池 Photograph date recorded by the source: 2013-01-19.Zuibaichi醉白池
Zuibaichi is a classical garden in Songjiang organized around a pond and a sequence of pavilions, galleries and halls. Winding paths create changing views of water, planting and buildings.
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Fangta Square Pagoda in Songjiang, Shanghai · 上海松江方塔 Photograph date recorded by the source: 9 August 2009.Fangta pagoda松江方塔园
Fangta Park surrounds the Square Pagoda on the former Xingshengjiao Temple site in old Songjiang. The modern park brings together the pagoda with historic structures and fragments from several periods.
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Huzhu Pagoda in Songjiang, Shanghai · 上海松江护珠塔 Photograph date recorded by the source: 12 June 2015, 14:06:34.Huzhu Pagoda护珠塔
Huzhu Pagoda stands on Tianmashan in Songjiang. Built in 1079 during the Northern Song period, it survives from a Buddhist complex that was damaged by successive fires.
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Main square of Thames Town, Songjiang · 松江泰晤士小镇主广场 Photograph date recorded by the source: 31 October 2006, 14:13:05.Thames Town泰晤士小镇
Thames Town is a modern planned neighbourhood in Songjiang inspired by English market-town architecture. Its terraces, shopfronts and church-centred square were created as part of the new-town development.
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An entrance gate leading into the wooded hillside of Sheshan National Forest Park, Songjiang · 上海市松江区佘山国家森林公园入口 Source-recorded photograph date: 2013-09-16 12:24:08.Sheshan National Forest Park佘山国家森林公园
Sheshan National Forest Park is part of the wider Sheshan tourist resort in Shanghai's Songjiang district.
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The Flying Island area of Shanghai Happy Valley theme park, Songjiang District · 上海欢乐谷飞跃岛景区，松江区 Source-recorded photograph date: 2010-11-06 16:39:55.Shanghai Happy Valley上海欢乐谷
Shanghai Happy Valley is a purpose-built amusement park in the Sheshan resort area of Songjiang.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Songjiang District local specialties
松江区特色美食 · 1 specialties to discover
Yexie soft rice cake 叶榭软糕AI illustration · AI 示意图
The cake is gently sweet, moist and tender, with a lighter, more crumbly bite than an elastic glutinous-rice dumpling.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →All dish names · 全部菜名 (1)
More dishes from across Shanghai are in the Shanghai food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Songjiang District is about 35 km in a straight line from central Shanghai. Search for 松江区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Sheshan and Chenshan Botanical Garden are about 2 km apart in a straight line. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Shanghai →More in Shanghai
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 松江区 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Sheshan · User:Mountain · CC BY-SA 4.0. Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping, retouching or changing the photographed subject.
Photo: Chenshan Botanical Garden · 中日韩越的汉字 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Guangfulin Cultural Relics Park · coolmanjackey · CC BY-SA 3.0. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Zuibaichi · Fayhoo · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Fangta pagoda · Heights · Heights — Fangta_Park_Songjiang.JPG — CC BY-SA 3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Huzhu Pagoda · Narjuko · Narjuko — Huzhu_Pagoda,_Shanghai.jpg — CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Thames Town · Huai-Chun Hsu · Huai-Chun Hsu — Thames_Town_in_Songjiang.jpg — CC BY 2.0 · CC BY 2.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Sheshan National Forest Park · 蟋有的蟀 · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Shanghai Happy Valley · Banalities · CC BY 2.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.