That's just the tip of the iceberg as far as I know. My wife and I are in the planning stages now and honestly I am preparing for the worst. I am sure the guys with first hand knowledge will weigh in on this one too. Looking forward to reading some actual accounts.

Yep it's true. Few of my Chinese friends told me about the whole deal and how it is actually benefits the woman's health, although I must say I was not convinced.

Yeah, it is true.  It is called Zuo yue zi.  And not only in bed, but allowed to do nothing at all, not even get up to go pee, take a shower, or eat.  One solid month, thirty days in that bed.  And her mother will move in and do take care of the baby while she is in bed.

During these 30 days ( and many feel it should be 45 instead of 30), some of the traditional beliefs are :

-For thirty days after childbirth, the woman is expected to stay in bed and not do any heavy work, including housework.

-The woman has to stay warm, putting on many layers of clothing to make sure she doesn't catch a cold.

-During the sitting month, she should not comb or wash her hair so as not to get a headache.

-Taking a shower during the month is not allowed. Traditional belief holds that after childbirth, the woman's skin is loose and water can enter through holes in the skin. This could cause a cold which the baby could also catch.

-Brushing the teeth during the post-partum month could loosen the teeth and make gums bleed.

-Eating protein-rich soup (considered “hot”) would increase breast milk and balance the “coldness” of the post-partum period.

-Avoid fruits and other “cold” foods.

-Sexual activity is to be avoided during this month.

And for the benefit of others considering the possibility of having a child here, a few more concerning pregnancy :

-In the early months of pregnancy, women should not do any heavy work or have sexual intercourse to avoid a miscarriage.

-Putting sharp objects on the bed (such as knives or scissors) can result in the baby being born with a cleft lip or palate.

-Touching anything with glue or adhesive can cause the baby to have birthmarks.

-If a pregnant woman criticizes someone, the baby will look and act like the person criticized.

-Since pregnancy is considered a “hot” condition, a pregnant woman should eat “cold” food to keep yin and yang balanced.

-Eating shellfish could give the baby rashes while pineapple could cause miscarriages.

-The shape and size of the belly could tell you if the baby is a boy or a girl. If the belly is “pointed,” it will be a boy; if “rounded,” a girl.

• A Chinese gender chart claims to predict the baby's gender with over 90 percent accuracy. The chart was allegedly found buried in a royal tomb in Beijing over 700 years ago. The prediction is based on the age of the mother at the moment of the baby's conception.

During labor and delivery- 
-The pregnant woman's mother is present at the first delivery but not for subsequent ones.

-The woman should try to be quiet during labor, as crying out will attract evil spirits to the new child.

-A necklace is placed around the baby's neck before the umbilical cord is cut. This ensures that the baby's life is tied to the necklace, not to the cord.

-The ideal position for labor is squatting. The baby will not have enough energy to come out if the mother is lying on her back.

-The father is not present during delivery, although he is expected to give the baby its first bath.

well, if she wont shower or brush her teeth for a month she wont need to worry about sex, her husband probably wont WANT to touch her anyway!

Not only after but before. One of my GFs friends has come back from the states to have a baby here. I can understand some aspects like having the family around. I think medical care is far better at home. My GF says Chinese women are different, they must spend a month in bed before they have child. I think its any excuse to stay in bed. :o)

My child was born here and I had to do yuezi.
Here's what it was like for me:
I had to stay in the house for one full month. actually I had to stay on the third floor for a whole month, Meals were were brought up to me. I wasn't asked to stay in bed though.
The reason I couldn't go down to first floor was that if you climb up and down the stairs during that period you will definitely suffer from joint pains after menopause
I could wash and brush teeth, even though the in-laws asked me to do it as little as I could. I refused, and they didn't argue with me. I washed as much as I liked.
I was supposed eat like 6 eggs Per day, it's thought to help women produce more milk. As soon as everybody left the place where I was 5 of those were flushed down the toilet.
Baby is Mother in law territory...if you're the lazy kind you can easily count on somebody
raising your child for you, and not only during yuezi. After 11 months I am still fighting on this.
Couldn't be on the balcony in order to avoid being exposed to sunlight.
So briefly, it is definitely true but it my case I didn't have to do all the things described above. Nonetheless it was brutal on me. I already told hubby next baby will be delivered back home. I did it because I knew it would put shame on my mother in law if I hadn't done it, but from my point of view it was terrible and didn't help me at all to recover.
I hope this answers your question.

Second baby due in 7 weeks,our first baby a daughter was born in the UK 4 Years ago,our baby due soon is a boy and im getting all these stupid ideas of what we should do,they will be all strongly ignored my wife not washing herself and staying in the house with my son for a month in the middle of summer,some ideas are just stupid and not to be used

I guess traditionally they still do the same things but only partially now. My wife also tried to do almost everything HappyExpat said, I hired a babysitter, brought her mother to help and  two weeks after birth she said, I CANT STAND IT, move I'm going to take a shower, comb my hair and brush my teeth. Although, drinking the hot soup does help the milk, and eating shelfish should never be done by a pregnant woman