The article conducts a conceptual analysis of the concept of 'cultural code', determines its core and peripheral meanings, identifies the author's variations of the meanings of the concept of 'cultural code' among modern Chinese researchers. The author comes to the conclusion that the identification of the structure of the concept of 'cultural code' can serve as a methodology for analysing the codes of certain cultures, since it will determine the way of describing a separate cultural code, will contribute to setting up procedures for decoding texts of various cultures, improving the procedures for reading and interpreting texts of cultures in intercultural dialogue and communication, which is especially relevant at the present time of the development of globalization processes.