Songjia City

Songjia City

Songjia City is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

During the Song Dynasty, Yangzhou built three fortified cities based on military needs: the Song Baoying City, the Songjia City, and the Song Great City. Located between the Baoying City and the Great City, Songjia City has a history of nearly 800 years. Despite impacts from warfare and other historical events, the city’s landform features remain faintly visible, with well-preserved walls, moats, and road layouts.

In 2009, as one of the key projects in that year’s Cultural Expo City construction initiative, the Songjia City Archaeological Site Park was rebuilt on the original site. The project site is surrounded by the Songjia City moat and covers a total area of nearly 1,000 acres. The development includes the restoration of the western, northern, and eastern walls and city gates, a cross street, a perimeter road, an exhibition hall for Song cultural relics, and heritage interpretation displays. The west entrance serves as the main entry to the Songjia City Archaeological Site Park. Among the three city gates, the western barbican gate and the eastern barbican gate feature watchtowers. The northern city gate extends 50–60 meters in depth, spans 80 meters in width, and stands 15 meters tall.

The Songjia City gates are designed with reference to Song Dynasty architecture, taking the form of double barbicans. These gates themselves serve as scenic spots and also function as elevated vantage points, allowing visitors to climb up and experience the ancient city’s atmosphere. The watchtower structures are built with reversible steel frames, leaving internal space available for flexible use.

In the following two years, concentrated improvements were made along both banks of the southern section of the Songjia City moat, including the construction of the southern city gate and the restoration of four scenic spots: Han Shang Nong Sang (Mulberry Farming by the River), Xing Hua Cun She (Apricot Blossom Village), Ping Gang Yan Xue (Red Snow on Level Ridges), and Lin Shui Hong Xia (Crimson Glow by the Water).

To fully utilize and maximize the ecological and social benefits of Songjia City, construction began on the Songjia City Sports and Leisure Park in 2013. On April 19, 2014, the park was officially completed. It now features seven tennis courts, four basketball courts, three basketball practice courts, two futsal fields, two volleyball courts, a table tennis hall, as well as 3 kilometers of fitness trails, a perimeter cycling path, a music plaza, outdoor activity facilities, and water sports amenities—all open to the public free of charge.

Today, Songjia City has become a beloved public fitness destination and leisure space for residents, and a landmark destination embodying the city’s mission to “get cultural, get active, and get happy.”