Chinese Culture and Traditions

This section of our web site has pages covering the many Chinese customs and traditions.

The beliefs and mythology are a core part of Chinese culture so we introduce Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Ancestor veneration. On the lighter side there are pages on all the many Traditional Festivals, Astrology, Everyday customs and traditions, Dragons, Chinese New Year, Deities, Feng shui, Qi (or Chi), Traditional medicine, Yin - Yang and the Yi Jing.

The arts are also well represented: The many styles of Opera, Traditional Music, Symbolism in art, Paper-cuts, Shadow puppets and story-telling, Architecture, Jade and of course Porcelain.

We cover the many Chinese pastimes: Chinese chess (Xiang qi), Mahjong, Game of ‘Go’ (Weiqi), Kite flying and Tai Chi.

We also cover more general aspects of Chinese culture including: Chinese inventions, Examination system, Food in China (with separate sections on Rice and Tea), Chinese Silk, Ancient coins and Why we call China ‘China’.


palace, eunuch, Beijing
Entrance through the Gate of Peace at the Lama Temple Beijing (Yonghegong), or Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple or Yonghegong Lamsery, a renowned lama temple of the Yellow Hat Sect of Lamaism. Building work on the YongHeGong Temple started in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. It originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs. It was then converted into the court of Prince Yong Zheng (Yin Zhen), a son of emperor KangXi. After YongZheng's ascension to the throne in 1722, half of the building was converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism, while the other half remained an imperial palace. November 2006. Image by Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada available under a Creative Commons license