Songjiang district lies in the southwest of Shanghai, the upper course of Huangpu river, possessing an area of 604 square kilometer, 49 ten thousand people registering Shanghai for permanent residence, taking the place of Songjiang county in 1998. Songjiang historically named Huating, its byname was Yunjian. Huating county was set up in 751A.D., the tenth year of Tianbao in Tang dynasty, later renamed Songjiang county. This year Songjiang county will see its 1250 anniversary.

Songjiang had been the center of politics, economy and culture of Shanghai district before Shanghai became a port, holding a good name of ‘Suzhou and Songjiang prefectural city possess half property in the world’. Songjiang economy fast developed from executing opening and reform policy, esp. from 1990’s. For instance, in 2000, the whole Songjiang district GDP reached RMB 130.89 hundred million, gross output value of industry and agriculture RMB 421.06 hundred million, including output value of industry RMB 406.75 hundred million；obtaining local financial revenue RMB 12.07 hundred million; totally investing long term assets RMB 47.2 hundred million; domestic retailing social consumable RMB 62.44 hundred million.

Songjiang will be importantly constructed during ‘the tenth five-year plan’ of Shanghai, planning an area of 36 square kilometer and having more 25 ten thousand population in the near future. Being built Songjiang new city will be divided by express way between Hangzhou city and Shanghai city, north of which mainly emerge city scene of Europe, south of which reflect structure style of Ming and Ching dynasty, those two kind of scenes will bring out the best in each other. Being constructed college region of Songjiang, ten projects, such as comprehensive traffic, administrative center, commercial center, information net, and so on, being executed during ‘the tenth five-year plan’, those make songjiang become a medium size cultural touring landscape garden city, incarnating comprehensive strength-level, predominant inhabitancy environment of Shanghai suburb.

Songjiang holds national rank manufacture and export zone of Songjiang Shanghai, first city-level Songjiang industrial region. 261foreign-funded projects, which totally invest $25.8 hundred million, including contractual foreign capital $17.8 hundred million, were successively introduced to Songjiang industrial region. More than 30 enterprises among 500 world-class industries, for example, American Ford, Japanese Hitachi, British ICI, French Essilor, German PM, and so forth, competitively invest Songjiang industrial region. Manufacture and export zone of Songjiang Shanghai was regularly operated on January 18th 2001, having introduced 25 foreign-funned projects, totally planning invested $16.5 hundred million. The first phase construction of Guangda Group of Taiwan finished, having put into production, annually manufacturing 100 ten thousand notebook PC. Daqun industrial region, covering an area of 7.1 square kilometer is being built.

Songjiang is a famous land flowing with milk and honey in south of the lower reaches of the Changjiang River, one of important manufacturing base of subsidiary agricultural products in Shanghai, possessing 29,249 hectare arable land. In the past few years, the whole Songjiang energetically develop a ten-thousand-mu –hundred-million-RMB project. Six agricultural modernizing items were carried out one after another, e.g. highly efficient farming to provide greater and better yields, non-stable food supply project, modernizing agricultural region. RMB 5 hundred million was invested to construct 1000 hectare manufacturing base of exceptional vegetable, 1000 hectare manufacturing base of flower and young plants, 3000 mu auxiliary facility base. Wushe demonstration region of modern agricultural zone, covering an area of 11.19 square kilometer, started to be built. Some units, e.g. Shanghai Agricultural Academy of Science, Zhejiang Agricultural University, the Center of Introducing Animals and Plants of Shanghai take part in scientific research to exploit Wushe demonstration region. The item that top quality special opening cultivating and selective breeding vegetable species, as a bidden item of key tackling technologically promoting agriculture of Shanghai, also invest the same region. Some green foodstuffs registered lvyuan trade mark, such as watermelon, tomato, shrimp, crab, and so on, gained national certification.

Songjiang is also a famous historical cultural city, holding deeply cultural foundation, famous persons in past dynasties coming forth in large numbers, for instance, Yun Lu and Ji Lu of West Jin Dynasty, Mengfu Zhao of Yuan Dynasty, Qichang Dong of Ming Dynasty, and Shifa Cheng of modern times. Their marked works become a component of Chinese cultural developing history. After liberation, mass culture is in full swing, folk arts are also being developed, taking shape particular traditional opera, photography and etching on silk net, so that Songjiang was successively named Chinese modern folk painting village and national cultural advanced county by Culture Department of China. There are the most abundant in cultural relics in Songjiang among Shanghai, e.g. A column engraved text of Confucian classics of Tang Dynasty，the square tower of Song Dynasty, the mosque of Yuan Dynasty, the reflect-wall of Ming Dynasty, the Zuibaichi of Ching Dynasty. Songjiang consequently holds the fame of ‘Tang Song Yuan Ming Ching Dynasty, seeing ancientry, seeing the present age’.

Sheshan national travel vacation zone, which is the only national travel vacation zone of Shanghai district, possesses exquisite natural scenery, being abundant in tourist resourses. 12 mountaintops lying in the northwest of Shanghai become the only mountain forest amongst Shanghai district. Moon lake, which is a artificial lake built in 2000, has a water area of 500mu. Those make Sheshan national travel vacation zone take on a picturesque scenery. Sheshan national travel vacation zone, therefore, was evaluated the first group AAAA level scenery. Film-television paradise of Chedun, ecological garden of Huaqiao, Dongjing, and flowers and plants base of Jiuting fascinate many tourists from internal and external. There are 20 opening scenery, 15 travel services, 7 star-rank hotels in the whole Songjiang district. In 2000, 330 ten thousand tourists came to Songjiang, which created travelling income RMB 4.46 hundred million.

Songjiang has been a tradition of showing respect for teachers and holding the education in esteem since ancient times. In recently years, reforming education is being positively carried out, quality education is also being entirely executed. Songjiang first finished integrating primary school in Shanghai district, organizing Songjiang second middle school education bloc. Dajiang vocational school become modern sign vocation school of Shanghai and national key moderate vocation school. Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai Foreign Trade University, Lixin Accounting Institute and Shanghai Travelling College entered one by one college region of Songjiang.

There are 34 medical care organizations at all levels in the whole Songjiang district, including 26 hospitals and 2,587 beds for the patient. Neural medicine, namely acute cerebrovascular disease, which belongs to central hospital of Songjiang, is a professional special branch leading in medical field of Shanghai. The item, which is being carried out by hospital of Yueyang street committee, was named exploring standard managing model of planning immunity in suburb. Another item, which is being implemented by central neural hospital of Songjiang, was named researching children psychological hospital and its countermeasure. Those two items are the elementary health care professional particular items leading in medical field of Shanghai. Rural medical insurance cooperative lies in the forefront of the suburb.

Mass physical training is in the ascendant, forming a three-level (district level, town level and street level) physical exercise network. Gymnastic center of Songjiang and community sporting facilities promote amateurish training and sport game. 3rd National Peasant Game, Women volleyball mach, women football mach and basketball mach of 8th National Game, men-women joint volleyball event, were successfully held one after another in Songjiang. In recent years, some international sport games were also successfully held. Large number of athletes from Songjiang obtained well achievement in the national or international games.

During ‘the tenth five-year plan’ of Shanghai, the total target of economy and social development of Songjiang as follows. Firstly, better adjusting the allocation of productive force of the whole Songjiang. Secondly, regulating area function locating. Thirdly, accelerating rational division of labor and coordinated development of regional economy. Fourthly, key constructing Songjiang new city, Songjiang industrial region, Sheshan national travel vacation zone and modern agricultural region. Those measures will be carried out to accelerate the development of society and economy. We are trying hard to make Songjiang be one of the most remarkable district in the suburb of Shanghai by reason of narrowing down the three great difference between workers and peasants, between town and county, and between manual and mental labor. One of the region where social order is the most stablest, economy, society and environment coordinately develop. One of the most effective zone where cadres at all levels receive training, management and supervision. At the same time, the whole Songjiang district annual rate of growth of GDP, gross output value of industry and agriculture, and of local financial revenue, will try to be higher by 3 percentage than those of the whole Shanghai district.

Favorable policy for foreign-owned enterprise

In addition to the policy formulated by Shanghai or by nation, more favorable policy measures encouraging foreign trader to invest, were worked out by Songjiang. For example, land price will be kept account by the cost price, not by earning. The items, such as national encouraging foreign-funded projects, the high and new technology enterprise, and the program exporting to earn foreign exchange, could be respectively prolonged from 2 to 3 years deadline of company income tax by way of early imposing, late repaying, local financial discounting for cash. For instance, new-founded productive foreign-funded company, which be totally invested no less than $1,000 ten thousand, could be prolonged 3 years to exempt from the levying of income duty. New-established enterprise, which be totally invested no less than $500 ten thousand, but less than $1,000 ten thousand, could be lengthened 2 years to exempt from the imposing of income tax. Famous international enterprise and high-new technological group of company joint investment, more than 10 percent will be favorable for the land price. If special company need land or house, they will obtain it by installation, they also get house by renting, not by purchasing. At the same time, more than 40 item charges will be cancelled to reduce the initial cost of foreign-funded enterprise.