Shuilu Fahui in the context of Tianning Temple (Changzhou)

Shuilu ritual paintings (Chinese: 水陸畫; pinyin: Shuǐlù huà; lit: "Paintings of Water and Land") are a style of traditional Chinese painting based on Buddhist and Taoist divinities that are used during the eponymous Chinese Buddhist Shuilu Fahui ceremony where these figures are invoked. The paintings are mainly intricate portraits of deities, historical figures, and the contrasting lives of common people and tragedies, in an ornate style with rich use of vivid colors and patterns. The paintings can encompass a wide range of mediums, including scroll-painting, murals, and even sculptures.

Despite their often mythological subject matter, the parts of the Shuilu ritual paintings that are dedicated to commoners show a realistic, often downtrodden and tragic view of their everyday lives, as part of the ritual to reflect on the suffering of the deceased. The paintings preserve the intricacies of their respective eras' fashions and give a greater view of their cultural and spiritual landscape. The visual similarities in the portraits between the divine figures and traditional Chinese opera costumes also illuminate the mutual inspiration between the two art forms.

The Yujia Yankou rite (Chinese: 瑜伽燄口, pinyin: Yújiā Yànkǒu, lit: "Yoga Flaming-Mouth Food Bestowal"), also known as the Yuqie Yankou rite, is an esoteric Chinese Buddhist ritual typically performed to fulfil several different goals, including to nourish and liberate hungry ghosts, to promote longevity and prolong the lifespans of the living, as well as to avert calamities and prevent disasters. The ritual is commonly performed during or at the end of regular religious temple events such as repentance rites (懺悔, Chànhǔi), Buddha recitation retreats (佛七, Fóqī), the dedication of a new monastic complex or gatherings for the transmission of monastic vows. It is also widely performed as a post-mortem rite within Chinese society during funerals and other related occasions such as the Ghost Festival. While the ritual originated as a rite to feed hungry ghosts, or egui (餓鬼, Èguǐ), certain traditional commentaries have expanded its scope and significance to include the nourishment and ultimate liberation of all sentient beings, including devas, asuras and humans. Due to the eclectic and non-exclusivist nature of Chinese Buddhism, where monks and nuns are usually trained in multiple Buddhist traditions and there is historically little to no sectarianism between the different traditions, the Yujia Yankou is practiced by monastics who are trained across all different traditions in Chinese Buddhism, such as Chan, Esoteric, Pure Land, Tiantai and Huayan Buddhism.

The ritual combines features of Chinese operatic tradition (including a wide range of instrumental music as well as vocal performances such as solo deliveries, antiphonal and choral singing), the recitation of sūtras similar to other Mahāyāna rituals as well as esoteric Vajrayāna practices (including maṇḍala offerings, recitation of esoteric mantras, execution of mudrās and visualization practices involving identifying oneself with a divinity). In particular, the usage of mantras, mudrās and maṇḍalas in the ritual correspond directly to the concept of the "Three Mysteries" (三密, Sānmì) in tantric Buddhism: the "secrets" of body, speech and mind. The ritual is one out of several esoteric Chinese Buddhists rites dedicated to the salvation of sentient beings, such as the Mengshan Shishi (蒙山施食, Méngshān Shīshí, lit: "Mengshan food bestowal") that is carried out in daily liturgical services. It is also usually performed as part of the more extensive Shuilu Fahui ceremony (水陸法會, Shuǐlù Fǎhuì, lit: "Water and Land Dharma Assembly"), where its function is to aid in the salvation of all sentient beings.