The sky where birds fly is blue and the sea where ships swim is blue. The sky and the sea are so far and wide that they all look blue and profound. Blue is a color of vastness and profundity.

In the traditional Chinese culture, however, blue is a color without much obvious connotation. Yet that background has not prevented the color of blue to exert its particular charm on the ancient soil of China. The porcelain with blue floral partterns represents grace and elegance. The indigo print cotton cloth has a plain bearty. The blue glassworks show transparence of blue. The blue of cloisonne products has its special glamour of attractive and profound blue. Those things in blue color with different features of their own have been embellishing the lives of the Chinese people and nourishing their minds.

Blue is the color of the sky. It might be human being's most primitive and lasting impression of the color.

Legendary story in China has it that in the earliest time, the heaven and the earth was connected and everything was in chaos. Later, Pan Gu separated the earth from heaven with big axes and then human beings were born.

In ancient China, the unlimited and everlasting "Heaven" has always been the highest deities worshipped by people. The rulers also used "Heaven" to prove their legitimism. Imperial emperors in the Chinese history claimed themselves the "son of Heaven" and they received mission from "Heaven" and helped the "Heaven" to rule the country and manage ordinary people. In all the sacrificial ceremony, offering sacrifices to Heaven was the most important. The emperor was the only person qualified for the ceremony.

The Chinese mainland borders on Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea in the east and south. It has a sea area of 4.73 million square kilometers. Its coastal line is about 18000 kilometers. Within its waters, there are 5400 islands.

Namco Lake in Tibet is 4718 meters above the sea level. It is the highest saltwater lake in the world. In Tibetan language, Namco means "Heavenly lake". It is a sacred land for Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhist believers from all over the Tibetan area will come to worship and spin the prayer wheels along the lake.

Covering an area of 4583 square kilometers, Qinghai lake is the largest inland lake in China. It is also the largest saltwater lake in China. In Mongolian and Tibetan language, Qinghai lake means "blue sea".