Chinese gong chimes are a set of instruments hit by a mallet found only in Chinese musical instruments, normally used in folk music, local opera and  temple music performances and popular in Inner Mongolia, Yunnan, Tibet and many areas of the Han people. A traditional set of Chinese gong chimes is made up of ten small bronze gongs, with each gong having a special plane edge with holes for hanging in the wooden grids of the gong racks. The gongs are arranged according to their musical scales. As the small gong at the top is rarely used, the gong chimes are also commonly called "nine-note gongs".       

The practice of combining small gongs according to their pitches for music playing began way back in ancient China. For instance, Chinese gong chimes images were featured in the painting "The Knick-Knack Peddler" by the Song Dynasty painter Su Hanchen. In the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese gong chimes were not only popular among ordinary people, but also used in banquet music in the imperial court and religious music. There appeared 10, 13 and 14-note gong chimes.

Chinese gong chimes are widely popular across China, mainly used in age-old trumpet music, wind and percussion music as well as in Buddhist and Taoist music etc. Shifan drum music (string and wind instruments plus a drum, clapper and gong chime) and Shanxi drum music are two typical examples featuring the gong chimes. Well-known Chinese gong chime pieces include the Rising Sun in the East (Xuri Dongsheng) and Triumphal Return of Fishing Boats (Yuzhou Kaige) etc.