Have you ever wondered who the first man living Shanghai was and when the city's history began?

The Songze Archaeological Site in Shanghai is one of the earliest places where humans lived in the city. It is the origin of Shanghai's ancient culture and is considered an important national cultural heritage site.

Discovered in 1957 in Songze village, Zhaoxiang town, Qingpu district, the site has been continuously excavated, protected, and studied for over half a century. Archaeologists have conducted multiple comprehensive excavations centered around an earth mound called jiashandun by locals.

The cultural layers at the site can be divided into three periods: the two Zhou dynasties around 2,200 years ago, a cemetery dating back approximately 5,500 years with over 100 burials, and the earliest primitive culture in Shanghai about 6,000 years ago.

The bottom layer represents Majiabang Culture, a Chinese Neolithic culture dating back approximately 6,000 years that marks the beginning of human activities in the Shanghai area. The site has yielded significant discoveries such as the "first person in Shanghai", the "first rice in Shanghai", the "first well in Shanghai", and the "first house in Shanghai". Due to these findings, the Songze site is known as the "source of Shanghai".

The middle layer's large prehistoric cemetery holds a unique cultural significance distinct from earlier and later periods, and similar discoveries have been made in other sites throughout the Yangtze River Delta region. The remains represented by burials in this layer have been designated as part of "Songze culture", the first archaeological culture named after a place in Shanghai. The discovery and confirmation of Songze culture are crucial to the understanding of prehistoric cultures in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The Shanghai Songze Archaeological Site Museum showcases the material culture, production techniques, lifestyle, beliefs, and spiritual world of the ancient Songze people through modern exhibition methods. Its architectural theme, "historical silhouettes, clustered villages", mirrors the cultural and natural landscapes of the Jiangnan water towns near Qingpu.

If you go

🏛️ Shanghai Songze Archaeological Site Museum

📍 No 3993 Huqingping Highway, Qingpu district

🚌 Bus routes including 851 and Shangqing Line

🎫 Free entrance. No reservation is required for self-guided tours.

For guided tours, a minimum of 10 people is required, and advance booking one day in advance is necessary. Please contact 021-5975-5777.

⏰ Open from 9 am to 5 pm (Last entry at 4:30 pm)

Closed on Mondays, except for national holidays when admission is free.

Sources: WeChat account of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Qingpu district government