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Chinese Things to Draw

One real thing from China with the detail to get right: an animal, a place, a dish or a craft.

Chinese Things to Draw

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  1. A giant panda eating bambooA bear found only in China: a white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders.

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Animals and plants 15

  • A bunch of lychees The lychee is found in South China, where its growing has been recorded since the 11th century.
  • A chrysanthemum, face on Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China, as far back as the 15th century BCE.
  • A giant panda eating bamboo A bear found only in China: a white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders.
  • A golden pheasant Native to mountain forests of western China: a golden crest, a bright red body, an orange cape.
  • A golden snub-nosed monkey It lives only in mountain forests of central and southwest China. Golden fur, a short upturned nose.
  • A goldfish turning, tail spread The goldfish is native to China, where it was first bred for color more than 1,000 years ago.
  • A pair of mandarin ducks A symbol of affection and fidelity, often seen in Chinese art. The male has two orange sail feathers.
  • A peach on its branch Peaches were first grown in China, where the fruit is a symbol of long life.
  • A peony seen from the side, petals layered Luoyang has been the center of peony growing in China since the Song dynasty.
  • A red panda's face, front view Native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China: reddish-brown fur, white-lined ears, a white muzzle.
  • A red-crowned crane in flight In China the red-crowned crane is often featured in myths and legends. Neck straight out, legs trailing.
  • A silkworm on a mulberry leaf Silkworms have been raised for silk in China for at least 5,000 years. They prefer white mulberry leaves.
  • A sprig of tea: two leaves and a bud The tea plant is native to a region that takes in southwestern China. Leaves and buds are picked for tea.
  • An orchid in a few strokes With plum blossom, bamboo and chrysanthemum, the orchid is one of the Four Gentlemen.
  • Plum blossom on a bare winter branch Plum blossom flowers in late winter and is one of the Four Gentlemen of Chinese art.

Places and buildings 15

  • A horse of the Terracotta Army The clay figures buried near Xi'an include warriors, chariots and horses.
  • A moon gate A round opening in a garden wall for people to walk through. Draw the garden seen through it.
  • A pavilion in a Suzhou garden The gardens of Suzhou copy natural scenery with rocks, hills and water, and set pavilions among them.
  • A round Fujian tulou A large, enclosed earth building, most often round or rectangular. A thick ring with a yard inside.
  • A siheyuan from above A courtyard closed in by buildings on all four sides, a layout common in Beijing.
  • A watchtower on the Great Wall The best-known stretches were built by the Ming dynasty. Watchtowers stand along the wall.
  • A yellow-tiled roof of the Forbidden City Yellow was the emperor's color, so almost all of its roofs are of yellow glazed tiles.
  • The Anji Bridge Built from 595 to 605, the world's oldest open-spandrel stone arch bridge. One low arch across the river.
  • The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda A seven-story pagoda in Xi'an with a brick outside, square in plan.
  • The karst hills of the Li River The limestone hills near Guilin appear on the 20 yuan note. Steep humps, one behind the next.
  • The Longji rice terraces Longji means dragon's spine. Draw the terraces as contour lines that wrap around the hill.
  • The Oriental Pearl Tower A TV tower in Shanghai, 468 m tall, with large spheres set on its columns.
  • The stone pillars of Zhangjiajie Tall pillars of quartz sandstone stand all through this forest park.
  • The striped hills of Zhangye A geopark known for its colorful rock formations, laid down as layers of sandstone.
  • The triple roof of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests A circular wooden hall of the Temple of Heaven, built with no nails on three levels of marble.

Food and the table 15

  • A dim sum table from above Small dishes, mostly Cantonese, served in steamers and on plates with tea.
  • A gaiwan A tea bowl with a lid and a saucer, invented during the Ming dynasty.
  • A hot pot seen from above, plates all around A pot of soup kept simmering at the table, with raw meat and vegetables set around it to cook.
  • A mooncake cut in half Eaten at the Mid-Autumn Festival: a round pastry with a pattern pressed into the top and a yolk inside.
  • A plate of jiaozi Dumplings pleated along one edge. Their shape recalls the gold and silver ingots of old China.
  • A pressed cake of pu'er tea Pu'er is a fermented tea of Yunnan province, pressed into cakes or bricks and aged.
  • A rice bowl and chopsticks Chopsticks began in China and later spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
  • A stick of tanghulu A snack of northern China: hawthorn fruits coated in hard sugar on a bamboo skewer.
  • A wok over a flame A deep, round-bottomed cooking pan, common across China and used for stir frying.
  • A Yixing clay teapot Made from the zisha clay found near Yixing, in Jiangsu province.
  • Baozi in a bamboo steamer Baozi are steamed, filled buns. Round tops, with the pleats gathered at the center.
  • Hand-pulled noodles being stretched Lamian is made by twisting, stretching and folding the dough into strands.
  • Xiaolongbao in a steamer Often called soup dumplings in English, and served in a bamboo steamer.
  • Youtiao and a bowl of soy milk Deep-fried dough sticks, eaten at breakfast with rice congee or soy milk.
  • Zongzi in their leaf wrappers Glutinous rice with a filling, wrapped in bamboo leaves and eaten at the Dragon Boat Festival.

Crafts and objects 15

  • A blue-and-white porcelain vase Decorated in cobalt blue under the glaze, a ware long made at Jingdezhen.
  • A brush and an inkstone With ink and paper they are the Four Treasures of the Study, the tools of Chinese calligraphy.
  • A Go board with a game under way Go was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago. Stones sit on the crossings of a 19 by 19 grid.
  • A guzheng A plucked zither with movable bridges; the modern one commonly has 21 strings.
  • A jade bi disc A flat jade disc with a round hole in the center. The oldest are Neolithic and undecorated.
  • A jianzi A weighted shuttlecock kept in the air with the feet: four feathers fixed in a flat base.
  • A junk under sail A traditional Chinese ship whose sails are stiffened by battens that run right across.
  • A kite of bamboo and paper Early Chinese kites had bamboo frames and silk sails; paper kites followed the invention of paper.
  • A pipa Sometimes called the Chinese lute: a pear-shaped wooden body, four strings and many frets.
  • A round silk fan Round silk fans are called tuanshan. In the Song dynasty they carried paintings and calligraphy.
  • A seal and its red paste Seals are pressed in red ink or cinnabar paste. Design a square one for yourself.
  • A shadow puppet A flat cut-out figure with movable joints, worked by rods against a lit screen.
  • A suanpan, the Chinese abacus Each rod has two beads in the upper deck and five in the lower.
  • A tangram cat A puzzle of seven flat pieces, said to have been invented in China around the late 18th century.
  • The character 永, copied from print Yǒng means forever. It holds the eight most common strokes of regular script.

How it works

Sixty Chinese things to draw for any day of the year, each real and named: a bear that lives on bamboo, a stone bridge fourteen centuries old, a tea bowl with a lid, a puzzle of seven pieces.

Read the full guide

Chinese drawing ideas in four groups

Animals and plants goes from the giant panda to the peony. Places and buildings covers the Great Wall, a garden gate, round earth houses and the hills of the Li River. Food and the table is dumplings, tea and a hot pot. Crafts and objects holds an abacus, a kite and a pipa.

Not the New Year list

Red envelopes, lanterns, the zodiac animals and the lion and dragon dances are on the Chinese New Year list, linked below. This page is the country on an ordinary day. The one written character here, 永, is copied from print stroke by stroke and never made up.

  • Ink subjects such as plum blossom and orchid want few strokes. Decide where each goes before the brush touches the paper.
  • A round fan, a moon gate and a jade disc all start as a circle drawn around a cup.

Questions and answers

What are some easy Chinese things to draw?

A moon gate, a round Fujian tulou, a plate of jiaozi, a stick of tanghulu, a goldfish, a tangram cat and a Go board. Look under More filters for the Easy level.

Where do giant pandas live?

Only in China. The giant panda is a white bear with black eye patches, ears, legs and shoulders. A thumb-like part of its forepaw helps it hold bamboo while it feeds.

Are fortune cookies Chinese?

No. They are served in Chinese restaurants in the United States and other countries but are not Chinese in origin. A very similar cookie was made in Kyoto, Japan, in the 19th century. None is on this list.

What are the Four Gentlemen in Chinese art?

Four plants: the plum blossom, the orchid, the bamboo and the chrysanthemum. The name compares them to the Confucian gentleman. Three have an idea of their own in the Animals and plants group.

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