Jiaolong (simplified Chinese: 蛟龙; traditional Chinese: 蛟龍; pinyin: jiāolóng; Wade–Giles: chiao-lung) or jiao (chiao, kiao) is a dragon in Chinese mythology, often defined as a "scaled dragon"; it is hornless according to certain scholars and said to be aquatic or river-dwelling.

The Chinese dragon or loong [1] is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as turtles and fish, but are most commonly depicted as snake-like with four legs.

Jiao Long, also known as Jiao, is a water creature in Chinese mythology and legends. It dwells in lakes and other bodies of water. Jiaolong can be seen as a lower-ranking creature compared to dragons, but through years of cultivation, it can evolve into a dragon.

The Dragon King, also known as the Dragon God, is a Chinese water and weather god. He is regarded as the dispenser of rain, commanding over all bodies of water. He is the collective personification of the ancient concept of the lóng in Chinese culture. There are also the cosmological "Dragon Kings of the Four Seas" (四海龍王; Sihai Longwang).

In Chinese mythology, Jiaolong is a dragon often depicted as a scaled, hornless, and aquatic creature. Meanwhile, Jiaolong is also the name of a Chinese deep-sea submersible that can dive to a depth of over 7,000 meters.

Chinese Dragon or Loong is a mythical creature and an iconic symbol deeply ingrained in every facet of Chinese history and culture.

Learn origin and history of Chinese dragon (loong), that is, the evolution of Chinese dragon from primitive society to Tang Dynasty.

Jiao and jiaolong were names for a legendary river dragon. The mythological Shanhaijing "Classic of Mountains and Seas" mentions jiao and hujiao 虎蛟 "tiger jiao ", but notably not jiaolong. The "Classic of Southern Mountains" (1, Visser 1913:76) records hujiao in the Yin River 泿水. The River Bank rises here and flows south to empty into the sea.

By the Qin Dynasty, loong’s image was basically established as four-limbed and clawed creatures. Nevertheless, during the pre-Qin era, Ying Loong, a winged dragon documented in The Classic of Mountains and Seas, was revered as the Ancestral Dragon of Creation 5.

Chinese dragons are powerful and benevolent symbols in Chinese culture, with supposed control over watery phenomenon, e.g. summoning rain during a drought. Dragons are everywhere in China — in legends, festivals, astrology, art, names, and idioms.