In the 23rd year during reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, a Shanghai businessman named Zhu Tongsheng opened the Tongchang Bicycle Shop at 604, Nanjing Road (the present-day East Nanjing Road) to sell bicycles and parts, setting a precedent in the Chinese bicycle industry. Phoenix developed out of this shop.

On May 1, 1958, 267 businesses including 18 central factories like Tongchang Bicycle Factory and Yamei Steel Ring Factory and some other small factories merged into the Shanghai Bicycle Factory III. On January 1, 1959, the registration of the trademark Phoenix was approved by the Central Administration for Industry and Commerce, which stipulated: The trademark with a red background and golden phoenix is for domestic sales; and the trademark with a blue background and golden phoenix is for export sales.

On September 14, 1980, during the 3rd Nationwide Quality Month, the Phoenix 28″PA18 bicycle obtained municipal high-quality product certificate and award and was admitted into the European market together with the 26″ light bicycle. Thus, Phoenix became the first Chinese bicycle brand to enter the European and American markets. In September 1981, the Phoenix PA18 bicycle won the national silver prize for quality.

In 1995, the company was rated as an extra-large enterprise. In the same year, in the selection jointly organized by the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Electronics Industry, China National Council of Light Industry, China National Council of Textile, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and China Consumers Association, Phoenix Bicycle ranked first and won the Golden Bridge Award.

In 2010, the company was restructured. Phoenix, a national brand with 100 years of history, took new opportunities for development.

In 2011, Phoenix opened its official Weibo account “Phoenix Bicycle Official Website” on Sina. To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the CPC, Phoenix took part in the Red Trip cycling activity across 6 provinces and 2 cities. In the same year, it confirmed the mass-oriented national brand philosophy and brought forward the slogan of “Ride with You Forever.” In 2013, Phoenix opened the WeChat public account “Phoenix Bicycle.”

In 2015, the company established a brand system according to the brand building management system standard of the Ministry of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and was conferred the title of National Industrial Brand Building Demonstration Enterprise. In the same year, the China Time-honored Brand Committee of the China General Chamber of Commerce and China Alliance of Time-honored Brands certified that Phoenix was established in 1897 and presented a certificate and a plaque to the Shanghai Phoenix Bicycle Co., Ltd.

On August 18, 2016, the Shanghai Phoenix Bicycle Co., Ltd. relocated to the Phoenix Center, 518, North Fuquan Road, Changning District, Shanghai and began to use the new logo of Phoenix. The design of the new logo centers on two core concepts: inheriting the classic and catering to the aesthetics of the time. In the same year, Phoenix was conferred the title of the “100 Year Glorious Enterprise” by the China Time-honored Brand Committee of the China General Chamber of Commerce.

In 2017, the company completed and published the book The Legend of Phoenix about its 120-year history. In May, Phoenix held the “Phoenix Flying to Magnificence” 120th anniversary celebration and the summit for the industry and invited people from all social sectors. In the same year, the company joined hands with Phoenix Television to produce the documentary These days we've been through, which was broadcast by the Phoenix Chinese Channel.

In 2018, it was the year of Phoenix's glory. Phoenix bicycle Chinese phoenix series "Dragon Xiang Feng Dance" and other models were selected as gifts from the national leaders. "National ceremony" Phoenix made. The phoenix will combine the oriental culture of the harmonious rituals with the elements of various countries, with the car as the carrier, the spirit of ritual, and the finest to the micro-casting of the national ceremony, not only showing the long history and contemporary civilization of the Chinese nation, but also reflecting the inclusive and common progress of different civilizations.