All traditions
2,291 traditions so far, best known first. 12,311 more are on the list to be written. Filter by region, kind and meal.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇨🇳 Shanghai, ChinaSeal carving篆刻
The Chinese craft of engraving characters and personal emblems into stone stamping sealsCraft
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaZangfu脏腑
A traditional Chinese model of internal organs as paired networks of energy and functionFolklore
🇯🇵 Yūki, JapanYūki-tsumugi結城紬
A hand-spun silk cloth from Yūki, Japan, woven slowly on a low loomCraft
🇨🇳 Zhongshan, ChinaChinese clothing
Robes, gowns, and suits shaped across dynasties, ranks, and daily life in ChinaDress
🇨🇳 Nanjing, ChinaYunjin brocade雲錦
A traditional Chinese silk brocade woven with coloured silk, gold and silverCraft
🇯🇵 JapanRokudan no Shirabe六段の調
A six-part Japanese koto piece, one of the best known works of the sōkyoku repertoirePerformance
🇯🇵 JapanNōgaku能楽
A traditional Japanese theater form combining the lyric drama noh and the comic interludes kyōgen.Performance
🇨🇳 ChinaTraditional Chinese wedding dress
The ceremonial bridal garments worn in Han Chinese marriage ceremoniesDress
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaZangfu脏腑
The traditional Chinese medical model of interconnected organ networks and vital energyFolklore
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreTaiyin Xingjun太陰星君
The Chinese moon goddess, honoured at Mid-Autumn with incense, mooncakes and prayersSpiritual · Sweets given and shared
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese herbology中藥學
The traditional Chinese system of preparing and prescribing herbal and natural remediesCraft
🇯🇵 JapanAuxiliary armour (Japan)
Extra guards that filled the gaps left by the six main pieces of a Japanese armour setDress
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanBoroぼろ
Japanese cloth kept going by mending: patched layers dyed with indigoCraft
🇨🇳 ChinaSankeng三坑
Chinese slang for three dress styles young fans wear, and the money they takeDress
🇨🇳 ChinaHuadian花鈿
A forehead ornament of Chinese women, painted or fixed on, still worn with hanfuDress
🇨🇳 ChinaEighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute胡笳十八拍
A Chinese song and poetry cycle telling the story and sorrow of Cai WenjiPerformance
🇯🇵 Kagoshima, JapanSatsuma kiriko薩摩切子
Cut glass from Kagoshima: coloured glass laid over clear, then cut deepCraft
🇨🇳 Beijing, ChinaZangfu臟腑 (simplified 脏腑; zàngfǔ)
A Chinese medicine view of organs as networks of qi, blood and five phasesFolklore
🇨🇳 Ziyang, China and 1 moreThree Corpses三尸
A Daoist belief in three inner parasites that cause illness and cut life shortFolklore
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreMianfu冕服
The most formal dress of China's emperors, worn at coronations and court ritesDress
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChinese patchwork
A needlework craft joining fabric scraps into protective clothing, quilts and folk artCraft
🇨🇳 ChinaXifu戏服
The stage dress of Chinese opera, its colour and pattern telling rank, sex and characterDress
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreBuddhist initiation受戒
A public ceremony where a lay follower takes refuge in the Triple Gem and accepts moral precepts.Spiritual
🇨🇳 Quanzhou, China and 5 moreNanguan南管
An introspective chamber music tradition from southern Fujian and Taiwan.Performance
🇲🇳 MongoliaBiyelgeeБиелгээ
A traditional Mongolian dance of upper body movements rooted in nomadic lifePerformance
🇨🇳 Xiamen, China and 2 moreBo Bing博餅 (Bóbǐng)
A dice game played at Mid-Autumn, where mooncakes of many sizes are the prizesGame
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Seal carving: Cyclohexane233, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Zangfu: Foristslow, CC BY 4.0, source
- Yūki-tsumugi: タバコはマーダー, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Chinese clothing: Yan Li-pen, Public domain, source
- Yunjin brocade: Dr. Meierhofer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nōgaku: Daderot, CC0, source
- Traditional Chinese wedding dress: Tunere, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Taiyin Xingjun: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Chinese herbology: Vberger, Public domain, source
- Auxiliary armour (Japan): Samuraiantiqueworld, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Boro: Unknown artist, Public domain, source
- Sankeng: Yumeto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Huadian: Gu Kaizhi (c.345-c.406), Public domain, source
- Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute: Copy painting in Ming era, Public domain, source
- Satsuma kiriko: Dime Gontar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Three Corpses: Michał Boym, Public domain, source
- Mianfu: Unknown photographer, Public domain, source
- Chinese patchwork: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Xifu: Walter Lim, CC BY 2.0, source
- Buddhist initiation: ScooterSponson, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nanguan: Jnzl's Public Domain Photos, Public domain, source
- Biyelgee: J bayarmagnai, CC0, source
- Bo Bing: Xmhaoyu, CC BY 3.0, source