Songjiang was the center of the cotton textile industry in ancient times. The thriving cotton textile industry brought immense wealth to Songjiang. There was a saying: "Suzhou and Songjiang contributed to half of the nation's tax revenues."

With prosperity comes culture. Songjiang has been a regional cultural center for centuries, famous for the Songjiang-style paintings and poems.

Songjiang Museum showcases the region's socioeconomic progress and rich culture through the ages in four sections.

The "Dawn of Pujiang" section traces the origin of Songjiang back to the Neolithic period, when its ancient inhabitants created the iconic Guangfulin culture, which dates back around 4,000 years ago.

Relics of feudal dynasties are displayed in the "Flow of History" section, including porcelain, jade, and gold artifacts.

The "Essence of Relics" section is the highlight of the museum, where visitors can appreciate the most precious ancient relics.

When visiting the "Artists' Masterpieces" section, visitors can enjoy ingenious artworks including paintings, calligraphy works and seals by famous artists such as Dong Qichang (1555-1636) and Shen Zongjing (1669-1735).

Songjiang Museum is also home to more than 2,000 sets of ancient books, including many rare and block-printed ones. In the elegant Jiangnan-style courtyard, visitors can see the oldest and most complete copy of the Songjiang Jijiuzhang tablet. Other stone carvings such as the Self-portrait of Zhao Mengfu and the tablet featuring Buddhist text The Heart Sutra written by three ancient artists - Zhao Meng, Dong Qichang and Zhang Zhao - are also cultural treasures of the museum.

If you go

Address: No 233 East Zhongshan Road, Songjiang district

Open: 9 am-4 pm; Closed on Mondays.

Sources: songjiangmuseum.com, "wenmingsongjiang" WeChat account