Guifeng Pagoda, Song dynasty brick pagoda in Shangcheng, Heyuan, China

Guifeng Pagoda is a 42.6-metre hexagonal brick pagoda on Guifeng Hill in Heyuan, Guangdong. Built in 1132, it imitates a timber storeyed tower with seven exterior storeys and fourteen interior levels, seven bright and seven dark. Each facade carries columns, lintels, doors, balconies and bracket sets under stepped eaves.

Built in 1132 during the Southern Song Shaoxing era, the Guifeng Pagoda is one of the few early Southern Song brick pagodas in Guangdong with an absolutely verifiable date. A brick inscribed "Shaoxing 2" was found on the third floor during 1989 restoration works. Another brick marked "Wanli 30" shows it was repaired in 1602, and a Yuan-dynasty poem proves its earlier existence.

Local legend says a deity threw a giant turtle into the confluence of the Xinfeng and Dongjiang rivers; the turtle became Guifeng Hill and the pagoda was raised on it to subdue water demons. The tower is counted first among the Eight Sights of Heyuan and is also called the First Pagoda of the Dongjiang.

The pagoda is accessible from Shangcheng Street district in Heyuan, Guangdong Province. Walking through the surrounding streets will bring you directly to the site without any major obstacles.

In 1989, restoration work uncovered inscribed bricks reading "Shaoxing 2, 29th day of the 11th month" on the third floor's west side and "Shaoxing 4" on the north side, plus a "Wanli 30 repaired" brick on the seventh floor. Workers also found the beam that once held the spire mast, physical proof the pagoda originally had a top.