This article provides an overview of the main institutions involved in contemporary Chinese finance. It starts with a brief summary on the history of China's modern financial markets, and some factual description on the markets of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It proceeds to one short section on Bill Gates' two-tier theoretical framework, which provides helpful insights on China's economic and social structure throughout the ancient, republican, and communist periods. The main part of the article examines three aspects of Chinese markets: first, the relationship between public and private sectors; second, regionalism and local clusters; and third, examples of market transactions in the form of commission fees. The conclusion discusses the infiltration of politics in Chinese markets and cultural essentialism.