While the Chinese culture has some interesting and even spectacular traditions of body decoration, what is perhaps most striking is how little these cultures depended upon ornament. This culture valued simplicity. They did not wear large amounts of jewelry, nor did they have complex ways of painting their faces with makeup. They did, nonetheless, have particular items of their overall costume that allowed for more display. Most of their body decoration customs are difficult to date and are assumed to have begun in ancient times. Many still exist to this day, showing the stability of Asian decorative traditions.

Chinese women both used their long, black hair as a primary means of communicating their sense of style. For example, they might wear any number of hair accessories, including stickpins, bars, combs, and bands. These items might be made of ivory, wood, tortoiseshell, silver, or other resources. Flowers were also usually worn in the hair, with bright colors selected to contrast with the wearer's black hair.

Both Chinese men and women valued clean, pale faces and a thoroughly groomed look. White pancake makeup was spread all over the face, occasionally quite densely. Women plucked and shaped their eyebrows and used red makeup on their lips. Lip painting was aimed at making the mouth look very small, the preferred style.

Dramatic makeup was an important component of the national theater traditions of China. In China members of the Peking Opera painted their faces in well-defined patterns according to historical custom. These patterns, along with detailed costumes, informed the audience about the actors' characters many of these traditions continue in the present day.

Today, many acting schools, universities and/or conservatories teach their students the art of Chinese makeup in order to learn the many different styles of theatre available in the world and throughout history. The Chinese costumes and styles have also influenced many fads in the world and inspired many other designers, hairstylists and make-up artist globally.