Songshan was originally named Malysyakkaw, a lowland Ketagalan word meaning "Where the river twists". Its written form (Chinese: 麻里折口; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bâ-lí-chek-kháu) was abbreviated (錫口; Sek-kháu)[1] 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 (Japanese: 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.[2][3] 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
Urban villages of Songshan DistrictSongshan District Administration Center
Songshan is divided into four regions (地區), or secondary district (次分區), which in turn are divided into 33 municipal villages.
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.[8][9][10] After the headquarters move, China Airlines developed part of the training center at Taipei Songshan Airport into a business aviation center.[11]
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:
