Chaozhou Phoenix Terrace

Chaozhou Phoenix Terrace

The Chaozhou Phoenix Terrace is a cultural heritage site protected by the Chaozhou Municipal Government.

The Phoenix Terrace is located about one kilometer downstream from Guangji Bridge, at the head of Phoenix Islet on Xianzhou Island, a small islet in the middle of the Han River. Originally built in the second year of the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty (1568), it was established by Prefect Hou Baideng. The original terrace had three levels, stood seven zhang high, and featured a four-cornered square pavilion atop a tower-like stone base, with a horizontal plaque inscribed with four large characters reading "Pillar in Midstream." In subsequent dynasties, additional attractions such as the Ten Ministers’ Shrine, Wenchang Shrine, Kuige Pavilion, Dragon God Temple, and Tianhou Palace were built on Phoenix Islet, along with ancient temples and pagodas. These structures, with their classic and unadorned architectural styles, formed a unique scenic area in the river. Due to natural disasters such as floods and wars, the terrace experienced cycles of destruction and reconstruction. By 1998, the existing Phoenix Terrace was a cement structure with four pillars and a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, renovated in the 25th year of the Republic of China (1936) by Lin Yizu, then Magistrate of Chao’an County.

During the Cultural Revolution, the Phoenix Terrace suffered damage, but fortunately, the stone plaque embedded in the base, dating from the 55th year of the Qianlong era (1790), and the four plaques hanging on the terrace’s upper frame from the 25th year of the Republic of China, were covered with mud and lime, which inadvertently protected them and helped them survive that turbulent period.

In 1999, the municipal government funded the restoration of the Phoenix Terrace, with construction starting in July and completing in December. The current Phoenix Terrace is a pavilion-style structure with a unique design: supported by 12 load-bearing stone columns, featuring a fir wood dougong beam frame, three bays, a central high section flanked by lower sides, a three-hill-style single-eave hip-and-gable roof with blue tiles, four gateways, four window openings, and a cruciform floor plan. The upper frame of the terrace displays four plaques inscribed with “Phoenix Terrace,” “Phoenixes Arrive Heraldically,” “Pillar in Midstream,” and “Timely Rain over Phoenix Terrace.”

In 1987, the Phoenix Terrace was listed as a key cultural heritage site under the protection of Chaozhou City. Today, the Phoenix Terrace, together with structures such as Kuige Pavilion and Tianhou Palace, forms an important part of Phoenix Islet Park. One of the Eight Scenic Spots of Chaozhou, “Timely Rain over Phoenix Terrace,” centers around this terrace.