This paper discusses the transmission of traditional culture in schools from the perspectives of curriculum design and teaching approach. It focuses on the establishment of a Chinese music curriculum model, the content of which is a part of a larger study concerning the role of Chinese music in secondary school education in Hong Kong. The study employed a two-prong survey approach by utilizing a questionnaire and a list of pre-set interview questions in order that the data collected could complement and supplement each other. The questionnaire survey was conducted among 426 secondary school music teachers with a return rate of 51.5% while the interviews were conducted among 26 professionals from the cultural sector in Hong Kong. As a part of the results of this study, a curriculum model was established, which underpins a comprehensive approach in the teaching of Chinese music encompassing various issues in education associated with the problem of the selection of teaching contents and teaching approaches, especially in regard to traditional culture.[Copyright © 2003 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.]