Songshan District, Taipei

Songshan District is a district of Taipei, Taiwan. The Songshan Airport and the Taipei Arena are located here.

History
Songshan was originally named Malysyakkaw, a lowland Ketagalan word meaning "Where the river twists". Its written form was abbreviated  in 1815 during Qing rule.

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), Shichisei District, Taihoku Prefecture. The village, named after Matsuyama City in Japan, was incorporated into Taihoku City (modern-day Taipei) in 1938.

At the outset of one-party rule by the Kuomintang (1945-1990), the Mandarin Chinese reading of the kanji characters 松山 (i.e. Sung-shan) 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. By 1980, Songshan was the most populous area of the city.

In 1990, 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 course of Keelung River was moved slightly to the south.

Administrative divisions
Songshan is divided into four regions (地區), or secondary district (次分區), which in turn are divided into 33 municipal villages.

Government institutions

 * Institute of Transportation

Institutions

 * Construction and Planning Agency
 * Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association
 * Belgian Office, Taipei
 * Liaison Office of the Republic of South Africa
 * Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre
 * Manila Economic and Cultural Office

Economy
The district is a major financial center in Taipei, with many banking institutions located on Dunhua North Road (敦化北路) and Nanjing East Road (南京東路).

Mandarin Airlines, Daily Air and Far Eastern Air Transport have their headquarters in Songshan.

Before moving its headquarters to a new location at CAL Park, Taoyuan International Airport, China Airlines formerly had its headquarters in the location of its current Taipei Branch Office on Nanjing E. Rd. After the headquarters move, China Airlines developed part of the training center at Taipei Songshan Airport into a business aviation center.

Infrastructures

 * Taiwan Adventist Hospital

Education
In addition, there are six middle schools, and eight elementary schools
 * 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
 * Taipei Municipal Zhonglun High School
 * Taipei Municipal Xisong High School
 * 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): a private vocational high school in Meiren Village

Tourist attractions

 * Breeze Center
 * Ciyou Temple (松山慈祐宮)
 * Puppetry Art Center of Taipei
 * Raohe Street Night Market, organized in 1987, contains over 160 booths.
 * Songshan Xiahai Chenghuang Temple (松山霞海城隍廟) was built in 1753.
 * Taipei-Fu Chenghuang Temple (台北府城隍廟) was built in 1926.
 * Fo Guang Shan Pumen Temple (佛光山普門寺) is the Taipei branch monastery of Fo Guang Shan Order.
 * Taipei Arena is a modern facility that hosts events ranging from sports to concerts.
 * Taipei Gymnasium
 * The Metropolitan Hall is a venue for music, dancing, and theatrical performances operated by Taipei City Arts Promotion Office
 * Land Reform Museum
 * Aurora Art Museum
 * Taiwan Stock Museum
 * Yingfeng Riverside Park
 * Guanshan Riverside Park
 * Sanmin Park
 * Xinzhong Park
 * Japanese Cultural Center

Roads
Fuxing North Road (復興北路) runs along the western boundary of the district. The other major north–south road is Dunhua North 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 1 borders the northern part of the district.

Metro
The Taipei Metro serves the district via the following stations:
 * Zhongshan Junior High School metro station
 * Songshan Airport metro station
 * Taipei Arena metro station
 * Nanjing Sanmin metro station
 * Songshan station
 * Nanjing Fuxing metro station

Airport
Songshan Airport is located in Dongshe Region, accessible by the Taipei Metro Wenhu line's Songshan Airport metro station.

Notable natives

 * Ying Wei-min, actor and singer