As a tradition, the Chinese people hold the belief that the fortune of a king (emperor) or a general is revealed clearly in the sky and that one should follow universal principles. Therefore, the people there have a long history of astronomical observation. There were 359 historical records of meteorite falling events from July 2,133 BC to the Fall 1905. One entry described that five pieces of meteorites fell at Shanghiu, Henan on December 24, 645 BC. The meteorites were believed to be from the space for the first time in human history, which was by far earlier than the famous Chladni (1794)'s publication on meteorite origin.
Although the Chinese used to watch the falling of stars closely, they did not make enough effort to collect the meteorites. Only a few pieces of meteorites were collected and studied before 1977 when Jilin Chondrite cosmic rain drew nationwide scientific attention. A joint investigation team was formed to study the Jilin chondrites. Since 1990, things have changed. Meteorite collection and research become popular in China. Some important achievements have been made. There are some researches on a few rare meteorites, such Qingzhen Enstatite Chondrite, and Ningqiang carbonaceous Chondrite.
It is extremely difficult to search and collect the meteorites described in history because of their melting upon impact and weathering afterward. Meteorites are still the rare and precious sample for geological, astronomical and space researches.