Chinese folk religion approaches the natural world as a living, spiritually charged field in which human life is deeply embedded. Mountains, rivers, forests, and even unusual rocks, ancient trees, and springs are treated as sacred landscapes, often regarded as dwelling places of deities and spirits. Specific natural features may become pilgrimage sites or local centers of worship, where offerings are made and vows are fulfilled. This sacralization of place extends to celestial bodies and weather phenomena, with the sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, and thunder understood as expressions of divine presence. Nature is not a neutral backdrop but a network of powers whose favor or displeasure can shape human fortune.

Within this worldview, a rich pantheon of nature-related deities and spirits mediates the relationship between humans and the environment. Mountain gods, river gods, Dragon Kings associated with water and rainfall, and local earth gods such as Tudigong are invoked to protect territories, ensure agricultural prosperity, and guard settlements. Animal and tree spirits, as well as other localized beings, are believed to possess supernatural capacities and are approached with both reverence and caution. Offerings at rivers, seas, and crossroads seek safe travel, good fishing, or protection from storms, especially in communities whose livelihood depends on the vagaries of land and sea. Natural calamities like droughts or floods are often interpreted as signs of a disturbed moral or cosmic order, calling for communal rites to restore harmony.

Spatial practice and ritual timing further reveal how closely religious life is woven into the environment. Fengshui, or geomancy, treats mountains, rivers, wind, and water as carriers of qi, and uses their patterns to determine auspicious locations and orientations for homes, graves, temples, and even entire settlements. The goal is not domination of nature but alignment with its flows, so that human structures resonate with the larger landscape. Ancestral graves and tablets are likewise situated and oriented in relation to landforms, reflecting a sense that ancestors remain embedded in the terrain and can influence descendants through the condition of fields, weather, and local ecology. In this way, the land itself becomes a bridge between the living, the dead, and the spirits.

The ritual calendar mirrors agricultural and seasonal rhythms, underscoring a profound dependence on soil, climate, and cyclical change. Festivals and temple fairs are often timed to planting and harvest seasons, as well as to shifts marked in the lunar and solar calendars. Spring rites may ask earth and weather deities for rain and fertile fields, while autumn ceremonies express gratitude for successful crops. Weather-related rituals, including rain-making and protection from natural disasters, are not merely pragmatic appeals but acts aimed at rebalancing the relationship between human communities and the wider cosmos. Through these interlocking practices, Chinese folk religion cultivates a vision of life in which environmental balance, moral order, and spiritual well-being are inseparable.