Photos past and present show how Songjiang has developed

The Maotian Lowland of Songjiang District has been transformed into fertile farmland and large fishponds (right) thanks to efforts made by generations of Songjiang people. In December 1966 more than 6,000 laborers (left) joined a water engineering project in Maotian. 

Gu embroidery, an ancient Songjiang art form listed as China’s intangible cultural heritage, has been revived over the past decades. Master Dai Mingjiao taught her disciples at Songjiang Craft and Art Factory in 1987 (below left). Among her works is a single-sided embroidery piece “Fish and Algae” (below right). Various embroidery works were showcased at the Louvre Museum in France in 2013 (above). 

Songjiang’s economy has developed tremendously over the years. The first glove factory in suburban Shanghai went into production in Songjiang in September 1979 (above). Workers from the Sheshan Xingzhong Copper Plant, Songjiang’s first joint-stock company, were pictured demonstrating their skills in copper smelting in 1987 (top). 

Construction of roads and bridges in Songjiang has made great leaps forward. Its Maogang Bridge (right) opened to traffic in June 1982 and Hengliaojing Bridge (left), the 12th bridge in Shanghai that crosses the Huangpu River, opened to traffic in December 2015.

Chenshan Botanical Garden in Songjiang’s Sheshan Town (above), part of which was a former quarry (middle), attracts numerous tourists every year. Another scenic spot of the area, the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland (below), also known as the pit hotel, opened its doors in November 2018.

Zhongshan Road M. (above), a major thoroughfare in Songjiang District, has undergone tremendous changes over the past decades. The road was expanded in 1997 (below left). A river near the road has old houses on both sides (below right).