Across generations, people throughout China nurtured their beliefs, customs, and aesthetics into a shared cultural matrix – one that continues to sustain unity while embracing remarkable regional diversity.
Far more than a relic of the past, Chinese culture and values continue to shape the nation’s understanding of itself and the way it shares its story with the wider world.
Chinese Applied Arts and Crafts: Everyday Objects, Elevated to Art
Chinese craftsmanship has an uncanny power to turn humble materials into enduring expressions of art.
Pottery and ceramics, refined over many dynasties and perfected at centres such as Jingdezhen, gave the world what Europe later called ‘true porcelain’ – a translucent, white marvel that European aristocracy adored and imported eagerly. So prized were these wares that the word ‘china’ itself became synonymous with porcelain in English, a quiet echo of trade and fascination that never quite faded. By the mid-18th century, European manufacturers began producing their own high-quality porcelain tableware, including Royal Worcester (est. 1751), Wedgwood (est. 1759), Spode (est. 1770), and Royal Doulton (est. 1815). Several of these firms went on to receive royal warrants from the British royal family and remain among the most prestigious makers of fine china today.
Alongside porcelain’s refined splendour, the delicate craft of paper cutting has long adorned homes across China, bringing symbolic patterns of luck and happiness to windows and doors. Chinese silk weaving, too, found fame along the Silk Road, its lustrous threads and intricate embroidery were once worn by emperors, yet admired across continents. Before the invention of paper, artists painted scenes of nature on silk using flowing black Chinese ink (墨, mò), made by burning pinewood or oil to produce soot, then blending it with glue from animal hides or horn to form solid ink sticks. Finally, Chinese carving practices – in jade, stone, and wood – gave lasting form to protective amulets and elegant screens that still grace ancient halls and gardens.
Today, Chinese decorative arts and crafts are honoured both in museum displays and through living traditions, passed from masters to apprentices, sustained within artisan communities, and supported by cultural-heritage programmes.
To experience this enduring artistry for yourself, indulge by exploring the vibrant Yuyuan Bazaar in Shanghai, where you can see these crafts up close and shop for exquisite handmade items, each of which tells its own story.
Chinese Architecture: Pillars of Tradition, Roofs of Imagination
To wander beside Chinese architecture is to go through a living story embedded in wood and stone.
One might begin in the shadow of an ancient hall, its pillars set on stone or bronze bases to help protect timber from moisture and decay. In residential areas, siheyuan courtyard houses hold the quiet memories of family life behind high walls, where calm gardens and fishponds once gathered generations. Turn a corner, and you may find a Taoist temple nestled among whispering pines or perched on a misty peak, its sweeping eaves curving skyward beside the serene forms of Buddhist and Confucian architecture. Farther on, the legacy of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties rises in grand palaces, reminding visitors how imperial craftsmen wove together practical design, philosophy, and beliefs in mystical protection into one.
At the heart of this legacy stands the Forbidden City in Beijing, where you can experience the grandeur of imperial architecture and trace a history that spans centuries.
In the country’s celebrated cities, modern Chinese architecture often draws inspiration from the old tiled roofs below, as skylines rise beside pagodas. Landmarks such as the Shanghai Tower and Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium showcase this harmony between traditional and contemporary design.
Standing beneath these roofs, feeling quite small indeed, one senses the careful hand of a civilisation that shaped space as both art and shelter, reflecting harmony with nature and respect for ancestors, principles deeply rooted in Chinese culture.
Chinese Astrology: Stars as Guides
The Chinese astrology wheel turns in a twelve-year cycle, each year linked to one of the animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
While some regard the zodiac as mere superstition, others see it as part of a broader philosophy that views life as cyclical, shaped by time, balance, and agreement with nature. Chinese astrology extends beyond the animals, incorporating the centuries-old Chinese metaphysical system of Ba Zi birth charts and the traditional lunisolar calendar, which is still consulted to choose wedding dates, launch ventures, or plan journeys.
Though city life moves fast, many still find time to consult the zodiac, whether for daily matters or important life decisions.
Chengxian Street in Beijing (officially Guozijian Street) is known for its Confucius Temple, the Guozijian (Imperial College), and the timeless charm of old Beijing alleyways. Affectionately nicknamed “Fortune Telling Street”, it invites visitors to explore traditional fortune-telling shops and experience first-hand one of the city’s most enduring cultural customs, a lively expression of Chinese culture.
Chinese Cinema: Traditions Framed in Motion
In recent decades, Chinese cinema has become a strong bridge between the nation’s long-established culture and a global audience. Through the lens of acclaimed Chinese film directors, ancient legends and martial arts traditions – embodying values of honour, loyalty, and the pursuit of justice – come alive on screen, giving yet another visual representation of China’s worldview and ways of living.
Films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Hero (2002), and House of Flying Daggers (2004) bring China’s classic hero genre, wuxia (武俠), to sumptuous life. This beloved style of storytelling follows the adventures of martial artists in ancient China and, on screen, becomes, dare we say, visual poetry, blending sweeping landscapes with striking costumes, music, and timeless tales.
Historical dramas like The Last Emperor (1987) and The Assassin (2015) invite us to bear witness to court intrigues and the fragile beauty of dynastic worlds. Cult classics like Kung Fu Hustle (2004) and Ip Man (2008) – the story of the Wing Chun master who trained Bruce Lee – prove that it’s never time for the spirit of martial arts to hang up its robes. Forcefully kicking and gracefully flipping its way through cinema, it keeps a proud element of Chinese identity in motion.
Hengdian World Studios (横店影视城), often called “China’s Hollywood”, is located in Hengdian, Dongyang, Zhejiang, roughly 250 kilometres from central Shanghai. It offers visitor tickets and guided tours where guests can explore its famous sets and learn about film production.
Chinese Clothing: Weaving Identity and Heritage
Picture a vast palace hall: the emperor in a bright yellow silk robe, five-clawed dragons rippling across the fabric, flanked by officials whose Mandarin squares display cranes or lions for their civil or military rank.
In the Han dynasty, Chinese Hanfu dresses with cross-collars and wide sleeves set the model for court and wedding attire. The Tang dynasty’s opulence brought long, vividly coloured robes embroidered with phoenixes and peonies, lifting Chinese silk dress to its peak. The Song dynasty’s restraint favoured plain tunics and beizi jackets. Women of the Ming dynasty swirled in pleated mamianqun skirts, and men donned yesa or ceremonial shenyi, each cut imbued with Confucian ideals. Under the Qing dynasty, Manchu qizhuang styles added their distinctive horse-hoof cuffs. By the time of the Republican era, the qipao had evolved into a sleek garment, its iconic side slits and Mandarin collar reinterpreting the Manchu gown for a cosmopolitan age. During the Cultural Revolution, the Mao suit (or zhongshan zhuang) became the adopted style, symbolising revolutionary ideals and collective identity. Each of these garments reveals not just fashion but the aesthetic philosophy of Chinese culture, where symbolism and beauty meet in fabric and cut.
Today, the revival of Hanfu, the reinvention of the qipao, and the continuing use of embroidered wedding robes testify to the enduring appeal of traditional Chinese clothing.
For those wishing to take home a piece of elegance, Shanghai offers wonderful places to have traditional Chinese clothing tailor-made. At the South Bund Fabric Market (南外滩轻纺面料市场), skilled tailors craft bespoke designs from fine silks, while the Old Shanghai Cheongsam Shop (老上海旗袍店) on Changle Road (长乐路) honours the city’s hand-stitched cheongsam tradition, employing skilled tailors whose craftsmanship embraces classic methods such as handmade frog buttons and minimal use of zippers.
Chinese Cultural Revolution: Change and Lasting Impact
During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), initiated by Chairman Mao Zedong, China underwent profound societal transformation as the movement sought to reshape various aspects of life by addressing the 'Four Olds': old customs, culture, habits, and ideas.
Time-honoured art forms such as classical painting, calligraphy, and regional opera were often set aside, as official policy favoured revolutionary model works and heroic imagery.
Many artists and intellectuals found their roles redefined, with official art adopting the style of Socialist Realism, characterised by bold, optimistic portrayals of workers, farmers, and soldiers designed to inspire unity, and a sense of revolutionary spirit.
Yet what unintended result did Mao's Cultural Revolution have on China? By encouraging a break from traditional practices, it inadvertently heightened appreciation for long-established arts among many individuals. Some continued to nurture their artistic practices in private, and after 1976, a notable revival of interest in historic techniques and creative expressions took hold as China opened up and policies shifted.
For a poignant experience, visit the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where visitors pay their respects to the founding leader of modern China. The atmosphere within this mausoleum offers a moment of reflection on the nation’s revolutionary past and enduring historical legacy.
Chinese Dances: Steps That Tell Stories
Dances in China hold great significance, and communities across the country engage with them to celebrate, remember, and simply stay well.
Imperial ritual forms – notably yayue (雅樂), the system of court music and dance established by the Western Zhou dynasty, and the yiwu (佾舞) row dance, which is part of a Confucian ceremony – were codified in ancient manuals and performed to embody cosmic and social concord. Over centuries, these ceremonies interacted with folk and theatrical styles; today’s classical Chinese dance (古典舞) draws on that heritage, reinterpreting historical technique for the modern stage. Beyond Han traditions, China officially recognises 55 ethnic minority groups, each with rich musical, costume and dance cultures. Fan dances, umbrella dances, long-sleeve dances, and folk spectacles such as the lion (舞狮) and dragon (舞龙) dances enliven festivals, with performances believed to invite luck.
Contemporary choreographers both hybridise styles and mine ancient sources, such as the Dunhuang murals at the Mogao Grottoes, to create visually rich, spiritual works. And in public parks, square dance (广场舞) gathers all age groups for music-led exercise routines that foster health and social connection.
Chinese Etiquette: The Subtle Language of Respect
In many parts of China, etiquette plays an important role in shaping cordial interactions, guided by traditions that continue to evolve.
Greetings are often polite and restrained, expressed with a handshake or a nod, sometimes accompanied by a formal title and surname. While not universal, showing deference to elders or superiors in tone and body language is often appreciated, especially in more formal settings.
When it comes to Chinese table etiquette, meals are typically shared in a communal setting, with dishes placed in the centre of the table for everyone to enjoy.
Once seated, guests wait for older members or the host to begin, and offering others tea before serving oneself is considered courteous in some circles. Chopstick etiquette matters, too: placing them upright in a bowl must be avoided, as it resembles a funerary image. Additionally, pointing with chopsticks is considered impolite.
Gift-giving can also carry an immense cultural meaning. Many choose to present and receive gifts with both hands, and certain items (like clocks or sharp tools) might be seen as inauspicious by some. It’s common for people to politely decline a gift once or twice before accepting.
These ways aren’t fixed rules but rather general cues that vary across regions and generations. Those wishing to explore etiquette more deeply may join Chinese etiquette courses for foreigners, offered by the YiLi International Etiquette School in Hong Kong.
Feng Shui: The Rhythm of Earth in Human Dwelling
In select corners of China and beyond, feng shui, a holistic worldview integrating cosmology, philosophy, and ethics, remains a widely used system of spatial organisation.
Its principles reach back into early Chinese history, often dated to the Zhou dynasty (roughly 2,500–3,000 years ago), with some techniques traceable even earlier. Feng shui originally guided the siting of dwellings, tombs and ceremonial sites in relation to landscape and sky.
Classical feng shui practitioners commonly work in two broad families of methods: the Form school, which emphasises site studying and landform relationships, and the Compass (Luopan) school, which uses a specialised compass and directional formulas to determine orientation.
Today’s feng shui, often referred to as the “Western feng shui method” and distinct from the classical tradition, is commonly applied in interior design. It typically offers guidance on decluttering, balancing the five elements, orienting furniture for good sight lines, and enhancing natural light and greenery.
Take time to appreciate the remarkable feng shui features at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, where elements symbolically link heaven and earth.
Chinese Gardens and Flower Culture: Nature Curated, Beauty Eternal
Traditional Chinese gardens cleverly distil nature into a microcosm. Designers arrange water, rock and plants, inviting mesmerising reflections and symbolic meaning.
Water often represents life and the receptive (yin) principle in Taoist cosmology, sometimes associated with femininity, with its surface able to open vistas even within small spaces.
Rocks – especially Taihu stones – suggest mountains and permanence, grounding the design in cultural ideals.
Plant and flower choice in Chinese gardens is never coincidental. The ‘Three Friends of Winter’ – bamboo, pine, and plum – represent strength and resilience. Lotus, orchid, and chrysanthemum are associated with purity, nobility, and longevity, while the peony, long favoured in imperial gardens, symbolises prosperity and honour.
A walk through Xi'an’s Tang Paradise (大唐芙蓉园) invites you to enjoy its stunning design and tranquil atmosphere, with graceful gardens, traditional architecture, and scenic waterways that whisper of the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty.
China’s Good Fortune: Living Auspiciously
Step into a lively market street; the air is filled with the scent of incense. At almost every corner, symbols of good fortune catch your eye.
By the shop door sits a maneki-neko, the “beckoning cat.” The figurine originated in Japan but has been widely adopted across East Asia and in overseas Chinese communities as a talisman of luck, trade, and prosperity.
Above the doorway, the bold red character 福 is displayed, sometimes deliberately upside down. This is a visual pun: the Chinese for “upside down” sounds the same as the verb “to arrive,” suggesting that blessings and good fortune have arrived.
A small stalk of lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) may pop up here and there. Although not a true bamboo, its straight, resilient stalks – and the number and arrangement of shoots – are interpreted symbolically in popular feng shui and gift traditions. Lanterns painted with fish often hang at festivals and in shops, signifying abundance. You too may stroll beneath glowing wonders at the Lantern Festival (元宵节), where paths of light and prosperity weave through the crowd, carrying wishes skyward on the fifteenth night of the Lunar New Year.
Each detail, whether glossy orange mandarins arranged in pairs or a gilded toad clutching its coin, may seem small on its own, yet together they create a world quietly wishing you well.
Gunpowder in Chinese Culture: The Science and Art of Fire
In the workshops of the Tang dynasty, alchemists once combined saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal, believing these substances might unlock the mysteries of longevity and spiritual transcendence. What they discovered instead was huo yao, “fire medicine,” described in 9th-century Daoist texts as a strange, burning powder that would not stay still.
By the Song dynasty, gunpowder formulas appeared in military treatises such as the Wujing Zongyao (Complete Essentials for the Military Classics, 1044 CE), which included the earliest known written recipes. Recognised as one of mediaeval China’s “Four Great Inventions”, alongside paper, printing, and the compass, gunpowder reshaped warfare, exploration, and scientific progress across the world.
Over time, gunpowder making evolved beyond the battlefield, branching into the areas of celebration and giving rise to fireworks that became enduring symbols of joy and festivity in Chinese culture.
To trace this brilliance back to its origins, visit one of China’s museums – such as the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing – where the story of gunpowder’s invention and its lasting legacy unfolds in vivid detail.
Jade Culture in China: Patience Made Visible
In English, “jade” refers to two distinct stones that the Chinese artisans have long worked with: nephrite and jadeite.
Nephrite (软玉), creamy in tone and soft in glow, has been worked since the Neolithic era. It was the jade of ancient rituals and ancestral offerings, valued for its elegance and moral symbolism. Among nephrites, the white variety known as “mutton-fat jade” was especially treasured as the highest expression of refinement and virtue.
Much later, in the Qing dynasty, bright green jadeite (翡翠玉) began arriving from Burma (modern-day Myanmar). Jadeite is harder, rarer, and more vividly coloured than nephrite, and it soon became highly prized at the imperial court, particularly in jewellery and fine adornments.
A visit to the atelier of Nie Zixian, a master jade carver in Hetian, Xinjiang, offers a glimpse into this living art. It is the same slow rhythm of hands that has shaped jade for millennia. In your quiet watching, you may begin to understand what the masters know well: carving jade demands care, attention, and time. Its beauty cannot be hurried.
China’s Languages: A Bridge Across Regions
The Chinese language family, or Sinitic branch, embraces an astonishing range of regional speech. Linguists have long mapped these varieties, most notably in the Language Atlas of China (1987; rev. 2012), while more recent studies from the University of Birmingham and elsewhere continue to deepen our understanding. Together, they reveal a linguistic landscape shaped by centuries of migration, trade, and cultural exchange. Scholars still debate how best to classify these languages, a reminder that “Chinese” is less a single tongue than a family of voices in which countless local forms thrive, some mutually intelligible, others worlds apart.
Mandarin is the most widely spoken Sinitic variety and forms the basis of the national standard, Putonghua. Step onto a platform in northern China and you will hear its smooth, rounded cadence carrying across the crowd.
In Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, the Yue language group, known internationally through its Guangzhou form, Cantonese, dominates daily life and shines in Cantonese opera and Hong Kong cinema.
Further east, around Shanghai, the Wu dialects unfold, often described by some listeners as softer and more lilting than many northern varieties.
Across southern China, other speech traditions such as Hakka and the many branches of Min (spoken in Fujian and parts of Southeast Asia) further enrich this tapestry of sound and story.
For travellers wishing to connect more deeply, many language schools across China now offer Mandarin courses. Some even pair lessons with homestays that give visitors the chance to practise conversation while experiencing daily life.
Chinese Literature: A River of Words Flowing Through Time
“White-rock shallows open and clear,
green reeds past prime for harvest:
families come down east and west,
rinse thin silk radiant in moonlight.”
White-Rock Shallows, by Wang Wei (王维, 701-761 AD). Translation by David Hinton.
The poet lifts our eyes in a slow, deliberate sweep, from the white pebbles of the shallows and the green reeds grown past harvest, to the small human scene of families rinsing silk, and finally to the moon that makes those fabrics glow. This stepwise movement – from stone to reed, to people, to moon – turns a simple riverside moment into a layered meditation on presence and awareness, a quality that has long defined the literary heart of Chinese culture.
From such attention, the broader story of Chinese poetry unfolds. The poetic tradition reaches back to the Shijing, or Book of Songs (11th–7th centuries BCE), the oldest surviving anthology of Chinese verse, which shaped the moral and musical imagination of later generations. The Tang dynasty elevated this art to a golden age, with poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu exploring nature as a mirror of thought and feeling.
Yet poetry is only one voice in China’s vast literary conversation. Classical prose, from the moral teachings of The Analects attributed to Confucius to the playful and philosophical parables of the Zhuangzi, explored human nature and attunement with the world. The Song dynasty brought new refinement to prose, with writers such as Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi crafting essays that blended reflection and lyrical grace.
In later dynasties, drama and fiction flourished. Yuan plays like The Romance of the Western Chamber brought emotion and wit to the stage; Ming novels such as Journey to the West and The Plum in the Golden Vase expanded storytelling into realms of myth and society; and Qing masterpieces like Dream of the Red Chamber continue to shape Chinese imagination today.
Historical writing also formed a great tradition, with monumental works such as Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian preserving the past as both moral example and narrative art.
For travellers wishing to explore further, Beijing’s National Library of China (中国国家图书馆) hosts a permanent exhibition on the nation’s literary heritage, where ancient manuscripts, woodblock prints, and calligraphy reveal how words have shaped a civilisation. In Suzhou and Hangzhou, smaller museums and classical gardens often display poetry carved on walls and stones, allowing visitors to walk, quite literally, through lines of verse.
Chinese Lyrics and Singing: The Human Voice as an Ancient Instrument
Singing in Chinese has a distinctive charm created by the interplay of language, poetry, and performance. One key reason is that Chinese is a tonal language, meaning the pitch of a syllable can change its meaning. In songs, this tone–melody balance is handled with care.
The bond between words and music in China runs deep. From the Tang (7th–10th centuries) through the Song (10th–13th centuries) dynasties, poets developed ci, lyrical verses composed to fit existing melodies and blend poetry and song. Later, in the Yuan dynasty (13th–14th centuries), sanqu poetry emerged: a freer, more theatrical form often performed with music, whose influence continued in later centuries.
In modern Cantonese music, lyricists still attend closely to tonal precision, matching the natural pitch of words with melody to preserve meaning. In contrast, Mandarin songs often allow the melody to lead, with listeners relying more on rhythm and context to understand the lyrics.
In traditional Chinese opera, of which there are more than a hundred regional styles, lyrics are categorised by mood – narrative, emotive, or descriptive. Southern opera, including Kunqu (or Kun Qu) and Nanguan, favours soft, lyrical tones, while northern styles such as Peking opera emphasise strength and projection.
Beyond its historical significance, singing remains woven into everyday life. Karaoke, in particular, has become a joyful form of expression and a shared pastime across generations. To join locals for a karaoke evening is to see how music continues to thread through daily life as an easy, communal way to unwind at day’s end.
Chinese Martial Arts: Philosophy and Physical Mastery
Walk into a training hall, where figures such as Ip Man, Bruce Lee and Wong Fei-hung linger, and older masters seem to echo from the past.
Kung fu (功夫), wushu (武术), and guoshu (國術) are umbrella terms rather than names for a single style. Kung fu is often explained as any skill gained through time and effort, and in the West, it is used broadly to refer to Chinese martial arts. Wushu, literally meaning “the art of war”, also denotes China’s national sport, while guoshu is another term for national martial arts. These words point to a wide array of practices, including folk styles, temple ethics, family lineages, and modern competitive routines.
Types of Chinese martial arts are richly varied: the close-range precision of Wing Chun, the grounded power of Hung Ga, the circular and spiralling flow of Baguazhang, the intricate locks and grips of Eagle Claw, and the swaying unpredictability of Drunken Boxing (Zui Quan). Among the best-known kinds of martial arts in China and around the world is Shaolin kung fu, associated with Buddhist monasteries and renowned for combining spiritual and physical discipline with mastery of weapons.
Beyond China, these martial ideals sent ripples across East Asia. Chinese philosophy and strategic classics such as The Art of War inspired neighbouring traditions; in Japan, for instance, they are thought to have influenced the covert disciplines that evolved into the ninja arts.
Through years of training, practitioners gain strength, speed, flexibility, and awareness that, to someone unfamiliar with the art, may seem almost superhuman.
For those wishing to explore this living tradition, the Shaolin Temple Yunnan in Hebei Province offers retreats where movement and meditation meet, providing an experience that lingers long after the practice ends.
Chinese Music: Melodies That Carry Memory
Chinese music invites travellers to experience a warm, timeless soundscape where old Chinese instruments often blend with modern styles, reflecting both continuity and innovation in Chinese culture.
In teahouses and theatres, you can hear guoyue (national music) and regional folk melodies that convey rich Chinese music traditions. Classical forms include silk-and-bamboo (sizhu) chamber ensembles and evocative opera music, such as Sichuan opera with its thrilling rhythms and face-changing acts. Religious and ceremonial music, including Buddhist chants and Daoist rituals, marks festivals and temple visits, while contemporary C-pop reflects the ongoing evolution of genres.
Instrumental highlights include the erhu’s expressive, bowed voice and the pipa’s plucked storytelling; both are central to Chinese classical music and much loved by listeners.
You might hear the guqin, guzheng, dizi, and sheng accompanied by percussion that drives the drama of opera.
Listen closely, whether in a museum concert or a street performance, for China’s musical world rewards curiosity. Stay a little longer after a performance and you may discover the hidden stories behind the melodies.
To deepen your appreciation of traditional Chinese music before your journey, listen to “For the World” from the film Hero, performed by Guo Gan, the internationally acclaimed erhu master.
Chinese Mythology and Legends: Timeless Tales of Creation and Courage
Open an old book and Chinese myths and legends begin to swirl in your imagination, conjuring worlds where gods and mythical creatures share the scene.
One favourite tale is that of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (牛郎织女). Separated by the heavens, they are allowed to meet only once a year, when magpies form a bridge across the Milky Way – an event commemorated in the Qixi Festival on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The Eight Immortals (八仙), drawn from popular Daoist tradition, each carry distinctive stories and together form a familiar cast in folklore. Chinese mythical animals are deeply woven into arts as well. The dragon, long a symbol of strength, imperial authority, and good fortune, is encircled by countless legends and centuries of devotion. The Four Symbols – the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise – are celestial creatures that mark the four cardinal directions in Chinese astronomy and visual culture, representing broader cosmological ideas. Though less prominent than dragons or tigers, elephants also appear in Chinese mythology, often through Buddhist imagery, and are linked with auspiciousness and strength.
Through Chinese folk tales, we glimpse the rich mosaic of values, dreams, and ways of life that shaped past generations across China’s many regions and eras.
Chinese Painting: Visual Narratives of Mind and World
Ancient Chinese landscape art, with its Northern tradition of dramatic, structured vistas and its Southern, literati style that favours misty scenes and personal impressions, invites a slower gaze and attention to quiet detail.
The roots of this observant art stretch back more than two millennia, when painters worked on silk long before paper became common. Over successive periods, Han dynasty murals, Tang dynasty Buddhist cave paintings, and Song dynasty scrolls helped establish the brushwork and composition whose influence endures.
Alongside landscapes, flowers in Chinese art carry symbolic weight: the lotus and peony for purity and strength, and the orchid for refinement. In bird-and-flower painting, cranes in Chinese art often suggest longevity, frequently paired with pines in timeless scenes.
Seen together, landscapes, blossoms, and birds form a shared visual language in which Chinese symbolism and art motifs invite us to recognise beauty in the world.
“Along the River During the Qingming Festival” by the Song dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan (1085–1145), one of China’s most celebrated masterpieces, features in the 2025 exhibition A Century of Stewardship: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum at the Meridian Gate Exhibition Hall of Beijing’s Palace Museum.
Chinese Philosophies of Life: Finding Order and Harmony
China’s approach to living well often draws on the three teachings: Confucianism, Daoism (traditionally anglicised as Taoism under older romanisation systems), and Buddhism.
Confucianism in China, emerging in the 6th–5th centuries BCE, centres on moral integrity, respect for hierarchy, and the cultivation of virtue in both private and public life.
Daoism, flourishing in the late Zhou and Warring States era, invites a deep attention to nature and easeful living. Its notion of yin and yang – complementary phases rather than fixed opposites – continues to shape Chinese gardens, architecture, and attitudes toward balance.
Buddhism, arriving by the 1st century CE via the Silk Road, developed into distinctly Chinese forms such as Chan (Zen) and Pure Land. Its emphasis on compassion and mindfulness lives on in temple rituals, art, and contemplative spaces.
When visiting temples, gardens, or teahouses, you will encounter these three teachings woven through daily life, not as abstract ideas but as living traditions.
Travel to Qufu in Shandong Province, the birthplace of Confucius, where ceremonial rites still honour the sage.
Wander the misted trails of Mount Wudang or Mount Qingcheng, sacred Daoist peaks crowned with ancient temples.
Then breathe in incense at Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple or Luoyang’s White Horse Temple, active Buddhist sanctuaries where daily ritual and quiet devotion continue alongside visitors.
Chinese Songbird Culture: Stories of Gentle Companionship
The custom of appreciating and keeping songbirds in China builds on older court traditions. Poets and painters of the Song (960–1279) and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties frequently portrayed birds and birdsong as emblems of refinement, linking avian grace to scholarly sentiment and the rhythms of the seasons.
By the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), bird-keeping had grown into a visible urban pastime. Exquisite cages, porcelain vessels, and other accessories reflect both the material culture that surrounded the hobby and the routines of owners who trained, competed, and displayed their birds in parks and teahouses.
These practices continue in many Chinese cities. Owners still carry ornamental cages on morning walks and hang them in parks to let the birds sing – a routine documented by journalists and researchers alike. Ethnographic studies of hwamei keepers highlight companionship, daily ritual, and social contact as central motives.
Chinese Stone Sculptural Arts: Beliefs Etched in Solid Form
In China, stone sculpture is a cherished art – the carving of images directly from rock or the assembling of figures from stone – imbued with deep cultural, spiritual, and, above all, monumental significance. These creations range from serene mountainside Buddhas to fierce guardian beasts stationed before palaces and temples, believed to ward off evil. Standing before them can feel like arriving just as a giant or mystical creature has paused to rest.
Below are three remarkable examples of Chinese stone sculpture, each reflecting a different facet of the country’s spiritual and artistic imagination:
- Statues of Emperors Yan and Huang (built between 1991 and 2007) in Zhengzhou, Henan Province: 106 metres (348 feet) high; twin monumental mountain-carved figures on Xiangyang Mountain in the Yellow River Scenic Area above the Yellow River – a modern (1990s–2007) work that combines the mountain face with concrete and granite sculpture.
- Leshan Giant Buddha (built between 713 and 803 CE) in Leshan, Sichuan Province: 71 metres (233 feet) high; a seated Buddha carved into a cliff at the confluence of three rivers, and part of the Mount Emei UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Ghost King Stone Carving (carving completed in 1996 on a site with origins dating to the Eastern Han dynasty, 206 BCE–220 CE) on Ming Mountain, Fengdu County, Chongqing: about 138 metres (453 feet) high and 217 metres (712 feet) wide; a monumental relief of the “Ghost King” that dominates Fengdu Ghost City, a vast complex of temples and sculptures devoted to the afterlife.
Chinese Symbolism: Hidden Meanings in the Everyday
Symbolism in Chinese culture can be described as a language where every animal, colour, plant, and number means something distinct.
Often called China’s “national treasure”, the beloved giant panda, one of the world’s most endangered species, has come to symbolize peace and friendship, historically appearing as a gift in diplomatic relations. This practice of “panda diplomacy” dates back to ancient China, when pandas were given to foster goodwill among nations.
Among ancient Chinese symbols, the dragon holds special prestige, a legendary creature associated with imperial authority, mastery over water and weather, good fortune, and transformation. Over time, it has come to symbolise the spirit of the Chinese people and is celebrated in art and culture.
Colours correspond to the Five Phases of Wuxing, a traditional Chinese conceptual scheme: qīng (青, cyan, ranging from green to blue), red, yellow, white and black, each tied to elements, directions, planets, seasons, and heavenly animals. Numbers also carry weight. Among the most powerful is the number 9, long associated with the emperor and symbolising heaven, completeness, and cosmic order.
Symbolic flora and fauna abound. The lotus often stands for purity, cranes and deer for long life, fish for abundance and prosperity, and peonies for wealth, honour, and beauty.
Chinese Tea Culture: A Journey Through Heritage and Tradition
In the flow of drinking Chinese tea, the senses awaken, and a ritual of grace and connection takes shape.
The story of the Chinese character for tea is rich and layered, mirroring the depth and continuity of Chinese culture itself. Early texts used 荼 (tú), meaning “bitter herb,” before 茶 (chá) emerged. The new form, incorporating the elements for grass and wood, clarified both its meaning and its pronunciation.
Celebrated since the Tang dynasty, Chinese tea culture embraces cultivation, brewing, and ceremony as an everyday art, known as cháyì, “the art of drinking tea”.
In homes, teahouses, and ceremonies, drinking tea slows time, encourages mindfulness, and honours both history and hospitality.
Chinese Theatre and Opera: Movement, Melody, and Myths
Chinese theatre is a living synthesis of music, movement, costume, and storytelling. Evolving from ancient court performances and folk rituals, it remains a vibrant tradition that continues to captivate audiences.
At its heart lies Chinese opera, a fusion of song, stylised gesture, and symbolic choreography. Among the many styles, Sichuan opera dazzles with lightning-fast mask changes, acrobatics, and playful humour, while Kunqu (or Kun Qu) enchants with graceful movements, poetic dialogue, and refined musicality. Chinese Peking opera is prized for its vivid blend of song, martial artistry, and expressive symbolism.
Beyond opera, other theatrical forms continue to enchant. Chinese shadow puppetry, recognised by UNESCO as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage, transforms light and leather into living theatre. This ancient art captivates through its narratives without actors. Artisans carve delicate, translucent figures, paint them in vibrant hues, and bring them to life on an illuminated screen. Behind the scenes, performers animate entire casts with astonishing dexterity, manipulating puppets, voicing characters, and accompanying the story with live music.
Whether grand or intimate, Chinese theatre celebrates transformation, as actors become heroes, and shadows turn to spirits. To watch it is to see a living tradition that bridges centuries yet feels utterly alive today.
For travellers wishing to experience this splendour, The Tang Dynasty Empress (大唐女皇) show in Xi’an offers a breathtaking journey through music and dance inspired by the Tang dynasty’s golden age.
Chinese Traditional Medicine: Observations for Healing
Discover the foundational practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), where ancient healing techniques provide insights into well-being.
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners draw on a wealth of accumulated knowledge to diagnose and treat illness. One classic method is tongue diagnosis, in which the tongue’s colour and coating are read as indicators of internal balance or disorder.
Treatment often combines several hands-on therapies. Tui Na massage uses rhythmic pressing, kneading, and stretching to ease muscular tension, stimulate circulation, and support the flow of vital energy. Gua sha body massage employs a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape the skin, encouraging blood movement and relieving stiffness. These methods frequently appear alongside acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, Qigong, and herbal prescriptions, all chosen and tailored to the patient’s individual condition.
Outpatient services are accessible to foreign visitors at Dongzhimen Hospital, a leading Grade-3A institution of Traditional Chinese Medicine that serves as the First Clinical Medical College of the renowned Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: Living Traditions, Shared Humanity
As you embark on your adventure in China, prepare to immerse yourself in a rich culture that extends beyond its stunning landscapes and ancient architecture.
Since 2010, UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage programme has maintained three lists, which together now feature 788 elements from 150 countries:
- The Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity highlights practices and expressions that showcase cultural diversity and raise awareness of their value.
- The List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding focuses on traditions requiring immediate action to ensure their survival.
- The Register of Good Safeguarding Practices shares successful methods used to keep heritage alive for future generations.
China holds the world record for the highest number of entries on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage lists, with 44 inscriptions as of December 2024. These range from Peking opera, Chinese shadow puppetry, and acupuncture and moxibustion to traditional tea processing techniques, paper-cutting, seal engraving, and the Dragon Boat Festival.
These intangible treasures complement China’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, preserving the artistry and identity of Chinese culture while adapting gracefully to modern life.
Chinese Writing Language: Pouring Ink and Heart Together
Chinese calligraphy is often described as the purest expression of the written word, a living art that unites language, philosophy, and visual beauty.
The history of Chinese writing begins more than 3,000 years ago, with oracle bone inscriptions used for divination during the Shang dynasty, later evolving into the elegant bronze scripts of the Zhou dynasty. Over time, these pictographs developed into the intricate Chinese characters still in use today.
The five major styles of Chinese calligraphy – Seal (篆书), Clerical (隶书), Regular (楷书), Running (行书), and Cursive (草书) – each embody a distinct rhythm and spirits, from dignified formality to spontaneous grace. At the heart of this practice lie the Four Treasures of Chinese calligraphy: ink, inkstone, paper, and brush. Masters like Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing refined techniques that remain influential, their works inspiring generations of artists.
The aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy extend beyond script into painting, scrolls, and inscriptions, where poetry and imagery intertwine. Every brushstroke carries emotion and intention, revealing the writer’s character through rhythm and balance.
Travellers can explore this ancient art through workshops and studios in Xi’an and Hangzhou, where experienced instructors lead calligraphy and ink-brush sessions in traditional settings. The China National Academy of Painting in Beijing also offers mentorship programmes and artist studios where visitors and students can study calligraphy, painting, and seal carving under master guidance. It remains a living tradition, flowing from brush to paper with skill, patience, and heart.