by Lisa Movius, Shanghai Editor

Conventional wisdom has it that prior to its opening by the British in the aftermath of the First Opium War, Shanghai was but a "sleepy fishing village." Granted, pre-colonial Shanghai was no bustling metropolis, but the region does in fact have a rich and multifaceted history.

Perhaps nowhere is this more in evidence than in the Shanghai suburb of Songjiang County. Founded during the Tang Dynasty in 751 AD, Songjiang is an historical and architectural treasure trove unequalled in the rest of the municipality. For Shanghai history and culture buffs, Songjiang should be a paradise. Should be, but isn't: What still remains of the ancient city is slated for destruction.

As a foreign resident of China, I've often mocked the excessive tackiness that seems so intrinsic to China's tourism industry. Chances to dress up in "emperor's clothing" on the Great Wall and the installment of fake dolphins in old lily ponds somehow invite commentary. After a trip to Songjiang, I take it all back. Without the tourism industry, a shopping mall would be built on top of the Forbidden City and Hangzhou's West Lake would be filled in with concrete. The buildings in Songjiang's Old Street are at least twice as old as the edifices that tourists flock to see in Zhouzhuang, two hours outside Shanghai. And Songjiang's buildings are, in my opinion, much more beautiful. They're in better physical shape than Zhouzhuang's, and are a unique part of Shanghai's history. Unfortunately, it seems to require the "ka-ching" of cash registers to make China appreciate its own history. If tasteless tourism is the price of preservation, then I say, bring on the trinket vendors!

I'd long heard much about Songjiang, and most often mentioned was the Songjiang train station. Originally built in 1909, the Songjiang Station was a well-known example of early 20th century "Western architecture with Chinese characteristics." It was a favorite backdrop for films depicting the flight and dislocation of the '30s and '40s.

After a 45-minute train ride from Shanghai Station, we disembarked at Songjiang along with a total of two others. Not exactly a popular destination. We looked around for the famous Songjiang Station, but all that met our eyes were the bamboo scaffolding covered in green canvas that typifies construction sites in China. Inquiries revealed that the station had been razed a few months before, and the new, white, two-story box of a building portrayed in a badly-painted sign in front of the construction site was well on the way to occupying its place. As if a new station was needed to handle the huge flow of traffic in and out of Songjiang!

A short walk down Renmin Lu takes one from the train station to the corner of Zhongshan Lu, Songjiang's main intersection. To the east stretch four lanes of expressway to nowhere, with four-story office and apartment buildings covered in bathroom tile rising above. A few decaying yet poetic old residences cling to existence between the newer constructions. To the west, however, lies Songjiang's most impressive and least-known attraction: the Old Street. However, its unfortunate lack of reputation means that the Old Street will soon be headed the way of the Songjiang Train Station.

Old residential areas have in recent years become quite a tourist attraction in China, offering an alternative and more interesting vision of the past than the palaces, temples, estates, and monuments more commonly preserved. Half-disguised behind glaring shop facades, one must wander down the maze-like alleyways to really discover Songjiang's old street. The buildings resemble neither the Long Tang houses of Shanghai nor the siheyuan courtyards of Beijing, representing instead the elegant courtyard and alley typical of West China in the early Qing Dynasty. Mostly two stories, but a few with a third, the unusual squared design adorning the rooftops are everywhere. Many of the windows are decorated with delicate four-paneled wood lattices. Well-worn wooden stairways lead up to balconies overlooking picturesque square courtyards. Apparently similar buildings could be once found in many of Shanghai's southern suburbs, but none remain except in Songjiang.

The gray-white of the walls towering above narrow corridors and topped by blue-black roof tiles creates a penetrating yet peaceful sense of mystery and timelessness. It is a living poem. The Old Street covers an area approximately a quarter the size of Shanghai's old walled city. It was once much larger, but this extensive block is all that remains intact. It is easy to spend an entire day lost in the labyrinth, walking down narrow corridors thirty feet long, turning a corner, and plunging into small, dark doorways. The doorways may lead into more corridors and small, dark rooms, or else suddenly into a bright courtyard sporting a majestic old gateway.

The Songjiang Old Street is populated by the very, very elderly, who continue a lifestyle preserved from the 19th century. Many times we turned a corner to come across a tiny old woman hobbling quickly on unknown errands, totally nonplussed by the odd sight of a foreign woman and a longhaired Chinese guy clad in purple velour. One suspects that they've already seen everything under the sun. Some were cooking in the type of old kitchens rarely seen outside of museums, one was weaving baskets, and many were just sitting, lost in reverie.

Songjiang people speak a version of the Shanghainese dialect that is actually more "pure" than the version used downtown, which exhibits influences from Ningbo to the south. The old folks can't speak a word of Mandarin, but went off enthusiastically in their own dialect about the destruction of the buildings that have housed generations of their ancestors.

"Zhen kexi, zhen kexi." The refrain was that it was a pity, even a tragedy, that the neighborhood is scheduled for destruction next year. Even the handful of younger residents echoed the sentiment, except for one rebellious eleven-year-old girl who wanted to live in a new apartment, wondering repeatedly aloud why in the world a foreigner would want to photograph a bunch of old buildings. Although the pro-preservation sentiment was almost unanimous, equally ubiquitous was the sense of helplessness. "I've lived here all my life, where will I go? They can just bury me in the rubble?

Songjiang's Old Street is scheduled for destruction sometime in 2001 - no one seemed to know exactly when, leaving room to hope that the responsible officials will come to their senses before then, and the neighborhood will be preserved. In the likely case they don't, however, cancel your weekend plans and rush to Songjiang to see it while you can.

Getting There

Trains to Songjiang leave every hour and a half from the Shanghai Station and cost 12 RMB. Tour buses leave every hour from the Shanghai Stadium.

Sightseeing in Songjiang

Songjiang is also home to a number of more recognized, and thus protected, sites. All, however, are the antiseptic big monuments built once upon a time by rich people. They make for nice photo ops, but fail to convey any sense of human history. Oldest of these is the Toroni Sutra Stele dating from the Tang Dynasty (859 AD) and located, oddly enough, in the grounds a primary school. The 9.3 meter stele is rather dilapidated, but it's interesting to recall that it's been here since before downtown Shanghai was even so much as a landmass. Most famous is the nine-story Fang Ta (Fang Tower), a four-cornered nine-story pagoda constructed in the Song Dynasty. Fang Ta is perhaps the only tower in Shanghai where one is allowed to climb to the top, an unforgettable experience that will leave your legs in agony for the following week. Fang Ta is located in a lovely park, containing many somber and simple buildings from the Song Dynasty.

Towards the end of the old street sits Xiling Tower, also from the Song Dynasty. A temple and monastery were recently constructed at its base. There's also a small museum on East Zhongshan Lu, halfway between the stele and Fang Ta. The Zuibai Pond, the residence of painter Dong Qiyuan constructed in the 18th century, features the precise baroque styles common to aristocratic residences in the Qing, but is a lesser example of Qing gardens than can be found elsewhere in Shanghai. It also features a go-cart track, and rents out boats shaped like giant ducks.

Also in Songjiang county, about half an hour or 45 RMB by taxi, lies the mountain of She Shan. A favorite resort destination of rich foreigners in the 1920s and '30s, She Shan is home to the She Shan cathedral, built from 1925-1935 and the largest Christian church in all of East Asia. It also features the Huzhu Pagoda, a leaning tower oddly similar to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and, built in 1079, over a hundred years older. Nearby sits the Songjiang Mosque, completed in 1367, is one of the largest mosques in China and features a unique merging of Chinese and Middle Eastern architecture.

Where to Stay

A tour of Songjiang can be crammed into a single day, but is more enjoyable at a leisurely pace. The very budget Jianghua Hotel (84-86 Renmin Nan Lu, near train station, tel: 5781-2689) charges 20 RMB a night for doubles with shared bath. Located on Zhongshan Lu across from the Toroni Sutra Stele, the Songjiang Hotel (298 Zhongshan Dong Lu, tel: 5783-3820 or 5783-2887, fax: 5783-3051) charges 100 RMB for doubles with own bath.

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