This article examines the involvement of family, community, and school in citizenship education in China, particularly in terms of the tension between traditional cultural values and today's modernisation. The analysis was based on written materials acquired through a systematic search of English and Chinese scholarly literature on the subject and relevant Chinese policy documents and laws. Following a hermeneutic approach, the image formed in the literature of Chinese citizenship education was interpreted and explained in a broader historical-cultural-social context. The results show that the traditional values of Chinese civilisation continue to play a strong role in all three arenas of citizenship education, although the conflict between traditional values emphasising conformism and modern values emphasising individual self-determination is also recognisable in them.