Techniques used in reconstruction of the paleo-climate series in China are reviewed. Seasonal and annual mean temperature series have been obtained on the basis of documentary data sources, with decadal resolution for the last 500 years and 50-year resolution for the last millennium. Concerning the precipitation, only the summer rainfall pattern was estimated year by year from 950 AD to the present. Six types of pattern were identified, then changes in the frequency of the types were studied. Finally, general characteristics of climatic change in China for the last millennium are described.