Shanghai/Songjiang

Songjiang is a rapidly developing area with a mixture of old houses in the western parts of the town and growing areas of new houses and large shopping streets further East.

The city is located around 30km to the south-west of central Shanghai and is connected to downtown areas by buses and metro.

By metro

Take line to the end.
The Jinshan Railway has several stops in Songjiang, but express trains bypass some of them.
You can use metro line to Xinzhuang station, then change to line until Jianchuan Lu. From that station, use the Songmin bus line (松闵线) which stops at the Songjiang Fangta pagoda and also in the city center and costs only ¥3.

By sightseeing bus

Get there by using sightseeing bus 1a from the east Shanghai stadium bus station, which leaves every 30 minutes between 7:30am and 5:30pm (¥10).

By taxi

From Shanghai city it's around ¥70. If you want to save a bit, use line to Xinzhuang station, then line until Beiqiao station and take a taxi from there (around ¥40).

By train

There are almost 30 trains per day linking Songjiang with Shanghai Hongqiao and Shanghai South stations (services to/from Shanghai Hongqiao depart/arrive at Songjiang South while services to/from Shanghai South depart/arrive at Songjiang). Songjiang station is about 4km west of Fangta pagoda while Songjiang South is another 2km south of that.

By bus

The Songmin bus line runs west-east through the whole city and connects the sights, most importantly the area around the Xilin pagoda and the Fangta pagoda.

By taxi

Taxis are readily available and come at the same prices as in Shanghai city, ¥8 or ¥10 per km.
Also, be aware that the travel distance from Jiangchuan station to FangTi Yuan is over 1 hour bus journey, so plan your time accordingly. The park is also very small and takes around 20 minutes to walk around

• Xilin pagoda

  address: Xita Lane, Zhongshan Middle Rd (松江区中山西路)
  A 46.5m high pagoda with temple located in the western part of Songjiang near the intersection of Zhongshanzhong Lu and Xilin Bei Lu (中山中路, 西林北路). The original pagoda dates back to 1440 and is within a Buddhist temple, which has been renovated recently. The pond is crowded with fish and visitors can touch them.

• Cheng Shifa Art Museum

• Songjiang mosque

  phone: +86 21 5782 3684
  address: 21 Gangbang Alley (松江区缸甏巷21号; Sōngjiāngqū​ Gāngbàngxiàng​)
  The oldest Islamic building in Shanghai, dating back to the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1341) merges Chinese with Arabic architecture. A large scale repair 1985 restored much of the original beauty and in modern times 300 Muslims worship here.

• Fangta pagoda

  address: 235 Zhongshan East Rd
  Square pagoda in the south-east of Songjiang. From the Xilin pagoda central city area to the Fangta pagoda its a 30 minute walk to the east on Zhongshan Lu. The garden is newly renovated and includes a large peaceful area and some 600 year old trees. A few "attractions", such electric boats, auto scooter for kids and the like at the outer places of the park disturb the peaceful overall impression. Still, the park and pagoda is highly recommended and a peaceful refreshment from crowded Shanghai city.

• Li Pagoda

• Huzhu Pagoda

• Zuibai Pond Garden

  address: Renmin South Rd
  It’s one of the five classical parks in Shanghai, also a national scenic spot ranked AAA. The park is famous for the peony in spring, lotus in summer, chrysanthemum in autumn and plum flower in winter. There is a central pond, lots of pavilions, terraces, path leading to the loneliness maze and maintained precious treasure relics such as the Square Hall, the Boat-like Hut, Reading Hall, the Straw-hut over the Pool of Qing Dynasty, Baocheng Pavilion, the Plum Blossom Hall and Zhao Mengfu’s handwriting of Yuan Dynasty. It includes a modern museum dedicated to paintings.

• Thames TownA very convincing English-style village, complete with pubs, cobbled lanes and a church. Only residents are missing, and empty stores and streets make the place looks like a film set even though it is very popular with newly-weds taking photos of themselves in front of the massive church. Definitely worth a visit for its eerie, unlikely atmosphere.

• SheshanTwo hills with large (and crowded) paths and stairs. At the top of the biggest hill sit a large catholic basilica built in 1935 and an observatory.

University town

This area has its own "university town" metro station on line and a number of universities:

• Shanghai International Studies University
• Donghua University
• DeTao Master Academy
• Shanghai Institute of Visual Art
• East China University of Political Science and Law
• Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade
• Shanghai Lixin University of Commerce
• Shanghai University of Engineering Sciences
• Sanda University

Several of these also have other campuses elsewhere.

• Shanghai Happy Valley

  address: 888 Linhu Rd (上海松江区林湖路888号)
  Theme park.

• Yuncaitang Spa

  phone: +86 21 57758899
  address: 1501 Meijiabang Road
  It's a large complex of Japanese style spa. The ¥39 entrance fee covers wet and dry sauna, jacuzzi, other water pools and tubs (all bathing is men and women separately), children's play room, heated pebble beds, many types of relaxation rooms and beds. Paid services are restaurant, mahjong and massage. It's possible to stay overnight for an extra ¥30 with passport (4-bed rooms). Inscriptions are only in Chinese and Japanese.

• Heji Xiaocai

  address: 2 Jiufeng Lu, Songjiang District

Splurge

• Vie All Day Dining

  address: Sofitel Shanghai Sheshan Oriental, 3388 Sichen Rd, Songjiang District

• Red Bar

  address: Kaiyuan Di Zhong Hai, 3rd floor
  A Franco-Chinese couple run this expat bar on the 3rd floor of Kaiyuan Med shopping mall, which gets very mixed reviews. It can be a good place to meet the local expats, but prices are high. There are 3 bars in Songjiang under the Red Bar group (Red Bar, Green Bar, and the Octopus and Paisley).

Budget

• Hanting Hotel (Shanghai Songjiang Fangta Branch)

  address: 18 Zhongshan East Rd, Songjiang District (松江区中山东路18号)

• Motel 168

  address: 860-868 Songwei North Rd, Songjiang District (松江区松卫北路860-868号)

Mid-range

Splurge

• Songjiang New Century Grand Hotel Shanghai

  address: 1799 Renmin North Rd, Songjiang District (松江区人民北路1799号)
  Five star hotel.

• Sofitel Shanghai Sheshan Oriental

  phone: +86 21-37618888
  address: 3388 Sichen Rd, Sijing Town, Songjiang District (泗陈公路3388弄, 泗泾镇, 松江区)

• InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland

  phone: +86 21 67661888
  address: 5888 Chenhua Road (辰花路5888号)
  A luxury hotel built inside an abandoned quarry.