Wikimedia CommonsCultureChina / East AsiaLiving tradition
Chinese
The mythological traditions of China — from the creation myths of Pangu and Nuwa to the sacred mountains and dragon kings.
Chinese mythology draws from Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions alongside far older folk beliefs stretching back to the Shang dynasty and beyond. The Five Sacred Mountains (Wuyue) form a cosmological framework orienting the Chinese world. Dragon kings govern the waters. The Jade Emperor rules heaven. The Queen Mother of the West presides over immortality from her palace on Mount Kunlun. Chinese mythology is notable for its integration with philosophy, medicine, and statecraft — the Mandate of Heaven was simultaneously a political doctrine and a mythological concept. The tradition is vast, encompassing creation myths (Pangu, Nuwa), flood narratives (Yu the Great), journey epics (Journey to the West), and an elaborate afterlife bureaucracy modeled on imperial administration.
4 entries mapped
Wikimedia CommonsChineseLiving traditionUNESCO
Mount Tai — Sacred Peak of the East
The most sacred of China's Five Great Mountains — where emperors performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices to heaven and earth
Tai'an, Shandong (Beijing 260 mi), China
Wikimedia CommonsChinese
Fengdu Ghost City
The ancient city on the Yangtze where the Chinese underworld has its earthly capital — temples to the judges of the dead and the torments of Diyu
Chongqing, China (105 mi)
Wikimedia CommonsChinese
Mount Kunlun — Abode of the Immortals
The mythological axis of the world in Chinese cosmology — dwelling of the Queen Mother of the West and source of the Yellow River
Golmud, Qinghai (remote), China
Wikimedia CommonsChineseUNESCO
Temple of Heaven — Where the Emperor Mediated Between Worlds
Where Ming and Qing emperors performed ceremonies to maintain cosmic harmony and ensure harvests, the Temple of Heaven is a masterpiece of sacred geometry and imperial ritual
Beijing, China