In the summer of 1602, the wind sweeping across Shenbu Hill carried a new sound: the ringing of iron wind chimes held in the beaks of sculpted phoenixes. These chimes hung from the eaves of the newly completed Qingyun Pagoda, a 45.4-meter octagonal brick-and-stone structure rising above Shunde. The building emerged from the earth in just six months. Magistrate Ni Shangzhong emptied his own salary to fund the construction, acting on a map and a land donation presented by local scholar Feng Menglun. Together, they sought to lock the river’s flow and channel the landscape’s energy toward academic prosperity.

The builders left distinct marks of their ambition. They mixed crushed cinnabar directly into the plaster, giving the seven-story pavilion a striking, enduring red hue. At the base, stonecutters carved rough sandstone into eight kneeling warriors—tower-supporting strongmen positioned at each corner to safeguard the structure. Halfway up, on the fourth floor, Ni Shangzhong’s own calligraphy marks a stone plaque blessing future scholars in their imperial examinations.

Inside, a hollow core houses a staircase leading to exterior corridors with protective railings. Generations of visitors have gripped these railings to survey the surrounding waters and the neighboring Taiping Pagoda. Time and weather eventually wore down the cinnabar skin and allowed plant roots to fracture the brickwork. The community responded with successive rescues. In 1985, Hong Kong compatriots funded a major repair. Decades later, a 2018 conservation project drew over 20 million RMB in donations from local citizens, securing the masonry against further decay.

Today, the pagoda anchors Shunfeng Mountain Park. The square beneath the rough sandstone warriors hosts young students practicing Wing Chun and participating in First Writing ceremonies. The 400-year-old structure continues to shape the cultural life of the valley, exactly as a magistrate and a scholar envisioned centuries ago.