Abstract: The cultural features of protected areas of the East and the West have significant differences due to their distinct ways of thinking. China’s protected area system should not simply copy the western experience. Firstly, we analyze the different ways of thinking between the East and the West, and the policy background of the current protected area system in China, and confirm the tremendous distinctions between China and the Western countries in protected areas. From the perspective of environmental philosophies and cultural meanings of protected areas, we compare the differences of cultural features in protected areas between the East and the West. We propose that the Easterners tend to hold the view that material and spirit are never separate from each other, and so are the culture and nature. In contrast, the Cartesian Westerners differentiate the material and the spiritual. The discoveries indicate that in Eastern countries, many natural places with national cultural significance are designated as protected areas. This national cultural significance of the Eastern countries’ protected areas discriminates the East from the cultural significance of protected areas in Western countries, when they are more concerned about wilderness or local/indigenous cultures. Finally, in reference to the practical experience of cultural features conservation in protected areas of Japan, South Korea and North Korea, and from a cultural difference perspective, we present three suggestions for further establishment of China’s protected area system.