Songjiang, Shanghai: neighborhood guide

Songjiang is a district of Shanghai about 30 km southwest of the centre, west of Minhang. The Huhang expressway splits it in two. North is Songjiang Xincheng, the new town: metro line 9 terminus, big shopping streets, university campus, apartment blocks. South, near the river, is the old town, where the historic sights are.

The old town is a working Shanghai suburb with a genuine history underneath. Songjiang was a prefecture town long before Shanghai was a port, and it keeps four pagodas, a Yuan-dynasty mosque and one of Shanghai's five classical gardens. Around them are ordinary streets, wet markets and low-rise housing rather than a restored tourist quarter.

Thames Town, a replica English village of cobbled lanes, pubs and a church, sits in the new town near Songjiang Xincheng station. It is a photo stop and a wedding-photography backdrop; expect few residents and quiet weekdays.

Stay here if your trip is about the gardens and pagodas, if you are visiting someone at Songjiang University Town, or if you want a cheaper bed and do not mind the commute. Hotel rates run below downtown Shanghai, and line 9 gives a direct ride to Xujiahui, Dapuqiao and the French Concession end of the centre.

Do not stay here for a normal first visit. The Bund, Yu Garden, the museums and the French Concession are all 30 km away, and a line 9 trip each way eats 2–2.5 hours of your day. Songjiang also has little evening life compared with Huangpu or Jing'an.

A middle option works well: sleep downtown and give Songjiang one full day, or sleep one night here if you are combining it with Zhujiajiao or a water-town run.

Food in Songjiang is local Shanghai cooking at local prices. Around Zhongshan Middle Road and the old town you find noodle shops, soup dumpling (xiaolongbao) counters and small restaurants serving braised pork, river fish and stir-fried greens. The university area has cheap canteen-style and chain options that stay open later.

The new town's malls near Songjiang Xincheng station hold the usual Chinese and international chains, food courts and coffee shops, which is the easiest bet if you do not read Chinese. For anything more ambitious, eat downtown before you come back, or plan dinner in Xujiahui on the way.

Songjiang's own speciality is Sijing pork and river fish from the Huangpu headwaters; look for it on old-town menus rather than in malls.

Metro line 9 is the default. It runs from central Shanghai out to Songjiang Xincheng; Zuibaichi Park station puts you in the old town near Zuibai Pond Garden and a walk from the Xilin Pagoda. Allow 60–75 minutes from the centre.

The Jinshan Railway also stops in Songjiang, with Songjiang station about 4 km west of Fangta Pagoda and Songjiang South a further 2 km south; express trains skip some stops. Around 30 trains a day link Songjiang with Shanghai Hongqiao and Shanghai South stations.

A taxi from central Shanghai costs around ¥70 (2026 estimate); a cheaper trick is metro line 1 to Xinzhuang, line 5 to Beiqiao, then a taxi for around ¥40. Buses, including the Songmin line, run west–east through the old town and link the pagodas, but a ride from Jiangchuan station to Fangta Park can take over an hour, so check the route before committing.

Inside Songjiang, taxis are easy and priced the same as downtown Shanghai, about ¥8–10 per km (2026 estimate). Distances between sights are real: Xilin Pagoda to Fangta Pagoda is roughly a 30-minute walk east along Zhongshan Lu.