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’.


Sacred Way
The 2,018 feet [615 meters] long Stone Elephant Road is the first section of the Spirit Way (Shendao) of the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. It is lined with several kinds of stone animals - lions, xiezhi, camels, elephants, qilin (Chinese unicorns), and horses. 27th Jan 2011. Image by User:Vmenkov available under a Creative Commons license .