The Chinese collection of the National Library is a rich source of information on the history, culture and current affairs of China.

Get help to find and access material from the Library’s Chinese collection and beyond.

Dr Mei-fen Kuo presented a lecture on her 2023 National Library Fellowship research into our Chinese-language collections and how that has helped in rethinking the influence of the Cold War on the formation of contemporary Chinese Australian identities.

Beginner researchers can use this guide to find resources to help learn about their domestic family history or trace their ancestral origins overseas.

Learn about the See Yup Temple, recipient of a 2025 Community Heritage Grant.

Oral history interviews by Diana Giese with Chinese Australians, Cambodian refugees and community leaders, and with people involved in the Australian publishing industry.

Using the Library’s English and Chinese language material, Dr Yao-Tai Li set out to examine the daily experiences of Chinese migrants since the 1970s.

A major collection of around 6000 titles in Chinese and Western languages, with strengths in Chinese history, biography, literature and philosophy, especially the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and 20th century.

Explore some of the recent additions to the collection representing the contribution of Australians with Chinese heritage.

Yahia’s research examined the Chinese ‘homosexual’ men’s lived experience as represented in the Australian-Chinese language newspapers, magazines, and digital media.

Around 186 Chinese newspapers and serials, mostly published from 1949 to 1984, plus a small number of government documents of the period 1969 to 1977, monographs, pamphlets, mimeographed works, and some works published during the Japanese occupation of China.

Hear from 2023 National Library Fellow Dr Mei-Fen Kuo about her research into the impact of Chinese cafes during the Cold War.