Yueyang Terrace Pavilion

Looming on the shore of Lake Dongting in Hunan province, Yeyang Terrace (岳阳楼) is one of the three most celebrated ancient multistory pavilion architectures in the south of Yangtze River.

In the pavilion, there is one of China’s most celebrated couplets composed by Fan Zhongyan (范仲淹), a great statesman, philosopher, writer, educator, military strategist and philanthropist:

先天下之忧而忧，后天下之乐而乐: Be the first to concern about the problems affecting the world and the last to enjoy the fruits of collective achievement.

Xiaoyao Terrace Pavilion

There are four great terraces in Chinese history, one of them is the Terrace of Free Spirit (逍遥楼) on the west bank of the Lijiang River in lake city Guilin, of Guangxi province.

The terrace, with a total floor space of 630 sqm and measuring 23.6 m high, was first built 1,300 years ago during the Tang Dynasty, from which you could have a full view of the river and the mountains beyond.

The building was destroyed in a Japanese air raid during WWII and rebuilt based on the old model later.

Other three great terraces include Yellow Crane Terrace  (黄鹤楼) in Wuhan, Hubei province, Tengwang Terrace (滕王阁) in Nanchang, Jiangxi province and Yueyang Terrace (岳阳楼) in Yueyang, in Hunan province, all located in southern China.