Songjiang, now a suburban district in the southwest of Shanghai, has been a land of abundant resources since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). While its role in contributing to the prosperity of neighboring cities and linking Shanghai and the extensive Jiangnan (lower reaches of the Yangtze River) area were long overlooked.

Heading West, a cross-disciplinary exhibition to open in Yunjian Arts Center in Songjiang on Friday, brings the history and urbanization process of Songjiang into the limelight by presenting the multiple perspectives of architects, artists and scholars.

The exhibition traces the development of Songjiang into an area depending on agriculture, and the changes in Jiangnan in the aspects of architecture, public spaces and social life, through the rapid process of modernization and urbanization. The exhibition runs through May 7.