The objective of this case study was to identify and explain how distributed leadership in schools was shaped by the context of Chinese instructional reform policy and Chinese culture. The research presented a real-life picture of how context and culture at different levels influenced distributed leadership in Chinese schools. This research enriches the cultural knowledge base on distributed leadership and provides an empirical and contextualized understanding of school distributed leadership in schools in China. The research findings have significant implications for policy, practice, and future research of distributed leadership in China and in other parts of the world.