Songshan District, Taipei

Songshan District 松山區 Siah-kháu (錫口) (old name)
Country	Taiwan
Region	Eastern Taipei
Divisions	List 33 villages 756 neighborhoods
Area
• Total	9.2878 km2 (3.5860 sq mi)
Area rank	Ranked 9th of 12
Population
• Total	208,832
• Rank	Ranked 8th of 12
• Density	22,000/km2 (58,000/sq mi)
Postal code	105

Songshan District (Chinese: 松山區; pinyin: Sōngshān Qū; Wade–Giles: Sung¹-shan¹ Ch'ü¹; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siông-san-khu) is a district of Taipei . The name of the district is historically spelled Sungshan. The Songshan Airport and the Taipei Arena are located here.

History

Songshan was originally named Siah-khau (錫口; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Siah-kháu), which is the Taiwanese Hokkien pronunciation of a lowland Ketagalan word meaning "Where the river twists".

During Japanese rule (1895-1945) the area served as a prime tea-growing area in northern Taiwan. In 1920 the area's settlements were established as Matsuyama Village (松山庄; Mandarin Chinese: songshan zhuang, retroactively referred to as Songshan Village). The village was named after Matsuyama City (松山市) in Japan (see Taiwan under Japanese rule) and formed part of Shichisei-gun (Qixing District), Taihoku Prefecture (台北州七星郡). Matsuyama was incorporated into Taihoku (Taipei) City in 1938.

At the outset of one-party rule by the Kuomintang (1945-1990) the Mandarin Chinese reading of the characters 松山 (i.e. Songshan) was adopted as the name of the district which in 1946 officially comprised 26 municipal villages (里). In 1949 the area's tea estates gave way to military housing for lower-income Kuomintang refugee families. The bodies of many residents and political victims from Taiwan's martial law period are buried in hillside cemeteries that now overlook the Taipei 101 shopping district.^[1][2] By 1980 Songshan was the most populous area of the city.

In 1990, as Taiwan began its era of modern multiparty democracy, the southern half of Songshan District became Xinyi District while the northern half retained its original name. The boundary of this smaller Songshan District was altered in May 1994 when the Keelung River was artificially moved slightly to the south.

Administration

Songshan District

Songshan is divided into four regions (地區), or secondary district (次分區), which in turn are divided into 34 municipal villages. They following placenames are romanized in Hanyu Pinyin:

• Sanmin Region (三民地區): northeast
  • Libie (里別)
  • Zhuangjin (莊敬)
  • Fujin (富錦)
  • Dongrong (東榮)
  • Sanmin (三民)
  • Jieshou (介壽): literally means "Longevity to Chiang Kai-shek"
  • Xinyi (新益)
  • Xindong (新東)
  • Futai (富泰)
• Dongshe Region (東社地區): northwest and central (largest region)
  • Jinzhong (精忠)
  • Dongguang (東光)
  • Longtian (龍田)
  • Dongchang (東昌)
  • Dongshi (東勢)
  • Zhonghua (中華)
  • Minyou (民有)
  • Minfu (民福)
  • Songji (松基)
• Benzheng Region (本鎮地區): southeast
  • Ciyou (慈祐)
  • Anping (安平)
  • Pengcheng (鵬程)
  • Ziqiang (自強)
  • Jixiang (吉祥)
  • Xinju (新聚)
  • Fusheng (復盛)
• Zhonglun Region (中崙地區): southwest
  • Zhongzheng (中正)
  • Zhonglun (中崙)
  • Meiren (美仁)
  • Jiren (吉仁)
  • Dunhua (敦化)
  • Fuyuan (復源)
  • Fujian (復建)
  • Fushi (復勢)
  • Fucheng (福成)

The airport is located in Dongshe Region, mostly in Jinzhong Village.

Tourism

Main facade of Ciyou Temple.

• Ciyou Temple (慈祐宮 "Protected by the Kindness"), built in 1753, is dedicated to a dark-faced goddess Matsu.
• Xiahai City Lord Temple (霞海城隍廟) was built in 1753.
• Taipei City Lord Temple (台北府城隍廟) was built in 1926.
• Raohe Street Night Market, organized in 1987, contains over 160 booths.
• Taipei Arena is a modern facility that hosts events ranging from sports to concerts.
• Taiwan Land Reform Museum
• Aurora Art Museum
• Breeze Center

District Boundaries and Transportation

Roads

Fuxing North Road (復興北路) runs along the western boundary of the district. The other major north-south road is Dunhua Road (敦化北路). Several major east-west arteries include Minquan East Road (民權東路), Sec. 3-5; Minsheng East Road (民生東路), Sec. 3-5; Nanjing East Road (南京東路), Sec. 3-5; and Bade Road (八德路), Sec. 2-4.

The southern border is outlined by the Civic Blvd (市民大道). Meanwhile, National Highway No. 1 borders the northern part of the district.

Metro

Currently, the Neihu Line above Fuxing Road provides the only metro access to the district, but by 2013, the Songshan Line will provide east-west access underneath Nanjing East Road.

Railways

• TRA Songshan Station

Economy

The China Airlines Taipei Branch Office and the former China Airlines headquarters in Songshan District

Mandarin Airlines has its headquarters in Songshan District.^[3] Daily Air and Far Eastern Air Transport also have their headquarters in Songshan.^[4][5] China Airlines maintains the Taipei Branch Office (Chinese: 台北分公司 Táiběi Fēngōngsī^[6]) in Songshan.^[7]

China Airlines formerly had its headquarters in the location of the Taipei Branch Office.^[8][9] Its headquarters moved to a new location, CAL Park at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. After the headquarters move, China Airlines will allow tenants to rent space in its former headquarters.^[10] As a result of the headquarters move, China Airlines will develop part of the training center at Taipei Songshan Airport into a business aviation center.^[11]

Education

• University of Taipei
• National Open University — Taipei Learning Center (空中大學 台北指導中心)
• Sungshan Community College (松山社區大學): located within Zhonglun Senior High School (中崙高中), in Jixiang Village
• Yu Da High School of Commerce and Home Economics (私立育達高級商業家事職業學校, short 育達商職): private, in Meiren Village

In addition, there are two regular high schools (Xisong and Zhonglun), six middle schools, eight elementary schools, and 23 kindergartens in Songshan^[12]

References

External links

• Songshan District Office , Taipei City
• Map of the Songshan District from Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior(Chinese (Taiwan))

v t e Districts of Taipei City seat: Xinyi Northern Beitou Shilin Eastern Nangang Neihu Songshan Xinyi Western Da'an Datong Wanhua Zhongshan Zhongzheng Southern Wenshan