The significance of dragons in Chinese culture

As every Tuesday, at the luxury hotel in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa, we are discovering a new curiosity about Asian culture. Today we are travelling to China to find out the role of dragons in Chinese culture. Are you coming with us?

Chinese dragons are legendary and mythological creatures in Chinese culture as well as other Asian cultures. It is related to the weather as having power over the rain and water.

They are strongly related to water in popular beliefs. People believe they control water bodies such as waterfalls, rivers and seas.

There are four main dragon kings, the four Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, which symbolize the four seas: the East Sea (corresponding to the East China Sea), the South Sea (corresponding to the South China Sea), the West Sea (Qinghai Lake), and the North Sea (Lake Baikal).

Precisely, due to this relationship, they are sometimes considered responsible for the meteorological phenomenon related to the water. In Antiquity, many Chinese populations, especially coastal ones, had temples in honour of their local Dragon King.

The Han Dynasty described dragons as animals made up of parts of nine animals: the eyes of a lobster, horns of deer, mouth of a camel, claws of an eagle, scales of a fish, trunk of a snake, tail of a whale, ears of a bull and paws of a tiger.

Currently, the worship of the Dragon Kings as responsible for the water and the weather persists in many regions and it is very rooted in Chinese cultural traditions, such as Chinese New Year´s Eve celebrations. Dragons symbolize strength, health, harmony and good luck.

We are looking forward to seeing you this summer in the 5 stars resort in Alicante Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa. Can you imagine a better plan for these holidays than enjoying a few days of in Southeast Asia in the Mediterranean?