Get to know Songzi
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- Administrative area
- County-level city · 县级市
- Part of
- Jingzhou
- Chinese name
- 松滋市
- Local areas
- County-level city guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 2,176.90 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 654,762
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The land falls from west to east, with the Zhiliu railway (枝柳铁路) as the rough divide: west of it are the mountains of western Hubei, stepping down toward the Jianghan Plain, and east of it hills and plain. The local summary is 'six parts mountain, one part water, three parts field'. The highest point is Daling (大岭) at Xiejiaping (卸甲坪) in the west, 815.1 metres; the lowest, in the lake country of the south, is 34.2 metres. The city has 27.36 km of Yangtze shoreline, and the Songzi River (松滋河) and lakes such as Weishui Lake (洈水湖) and Xiaonanhai Lake (小南海湖) lie within it. Rain averages about 1,200 mm a year, about 70 per cent of it between May and October.
History
Under the Han the area was Gaocheng County (高成县). The name Songzi belonged then to a place in Yuzhou (豫州), in today's Huoqiu (霍邱) in Anhui; in the Eastern Jin, people from that Songzi fled war, moved south to Jingzhou and set up a county with their old name, which has stayed ever since. Songzi became a county-level city in 1996, with its centre at Xinjiangkou (新江口). It is the home town of He Binyan (贺炳炎), the 'one-armed general'.
What to see
The Weishui scenic area (洈水风景区) holds both a national forest park and a national wetland park. Its lake is the Weishui Reservoir (洈水水库) in Weishui town, built mainly for irrigation; the Weishui National Forest Park lies on its north side, and in 2007 the Ministry of Water Resources listed it as a national water-conservancy scenic area. The city government also names the Quchi River hot spring (曲尺河温泉) at Xiejiaping, General Yan's Cave (颜将军洞) at Weishui and Xinshen Cave (新神洞) among its sights.
Food and local products
Songzi is the home of Baiyunbian (白云边), which the city government calls China's first liquor of the mixed-aroma (兼香) style; the China Alcoholic Drinks Association has named Songzi a 'distinctive production area of world fine liquor'. The city produces cotton, rice, wheat, rapeseed, citrus, pears and pigs, and has long been called 'Golden Songzi' (金松滋).
Highlights
- Weishui scenic area 洈水风景区: Reservoir lake with a national forest park on its north shore; national water-conservancy scenic area since 2007.
- Baiyunbian liquor 白云边: Mixed-aroma liquor made in Songzi.
- Quchi River hot spring 曲尺河温泉: Hot spring at Xiejiaping named by the city government among its sights.
Sources for this guide
松滋市情-松滋市人民政府网 · Songzi Municipal People's Government
自然地理-松滋市人民政府网 · Songzi Municipal People's Government
松滋市 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
洈水水库 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-24.
Explore Songzi
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Songzi is about 50 km in a straight line from central Jingzhou. Search for 松滋市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →More in Jingzhou
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 松滋市 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 洈水水库 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.