The Chinese Juniper belongs to the Cypress family and is a very popular and easy to care bonsai. It is originary from North-east Asia and mostly from China. If left to grow naturally, it grows upright with a conical form. It can live for hundreds of years.

The bark is reddish-brown and shreds off in thin strips. The trunk also don't take too long to thicken.

As with other Junipers, there are two kinds of leaves; juvenile leaves on young growth are wedge shaped needles with sharp points and borne in sets of two or three. Adult leaves are diamond shaped and arranged in four ranks overlapping flat on the twigs like fish scales.

Its dark green needles are soft to the touch. The needles are so small, they are in scale with the rest of the tree and form tight, neat patches of foliage that is attractive year round. The foliage has to be pinched regularly, they develop quickly. Male and female cones are carried on separate plants. The female cones are fleshy, violet brown and berrylike.