breaking the habit
We wanted to base it in [an] Asian rather than [a] European background...
A huge part of what makes Avatar such a special show is the time and commitment spent on making the fictional cultures of the Four Nations mirror real-life Asian cultures. In a September 2005 interview with Animation Insider, Avatar creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko mention that the show began with the decision to create a world based on Asian culture and martial arts. Whereas the overwhelming majority of popular fantasy/science fiction today focuses on worlds seen through a European cultural lens, Avatar breaks new ground by integrating a variety of cultures and mythologies. Some examples are below. (Screencaps on this page are from AvatarSpirit.net.)
 traditional Chinese clothing for women |  Toph Bei Fong in traditional Chinese clothing for women (S02E06, "The Blind Bandit") |
 Master Fu Chen Sung practices Ba Gua, a Chinese martial art |  Aang practices airbending, based on Ba Gua (S01E15, "Bato of the Water Tribe") |
 Gadan Songzanlin Temple in Diqing Prefecture, Tibet |  Aang's home, the Southern Air Temple (S01E03, "The Southern Air Temple") |
 a woman in a hanbok, traditional Korean women's attire |  Song, an Earth Kingdom girl, wearing a hanbok (S02E02, "The Cave of Two Lovers") |
 an Inuit family |  the Southern Water Tribe, based on Inuit culture (S01E01, "The Boy in the Iceberg") |
 traditional Inuit snowgoggles |  goggles worn by the Southern Water Tribe and others during the solar eclipse (S03E11, "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse") |
 a Japanese Buddhist monk wearing a kasa (traditional bamboo hat) |  Aang, Sokka, and several Earth Kingdom residents wearing kasa (S01E06, "Imprisoned") |
 a Japanese Kabuki (traditional theater) performer in makeup |  Suki and the Kiyoshi Warriors in their battle makeup and armor (S01E04, "The Kiyoshi Warriors") |
 a Noh (more traditional Japanese theater) mask |  the Blue Spirit mask (S01E13, "The Blue Spirit") |
 a practitioner of Northern Shaolin style kung fu |  Azula firebending, which is based on Northern Shaolin kung fu (S02E08, "The Chase") |
 a pipa, which is one of the oldest musical instruments native to China |  Iroh playing a traditional Earth Kingdom instrument (S02E15, "The Tales of Ba Sing Se") |
 coins from the Chinese Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) |  Zuko is extremely unimpressed by Earth Kingdom money (S02E04, "The Swamp") |
 shuang dao, traditional Chinese weapons |  the Blue Spirit using shuang dao (S01E13, "The Blue Spirit") |
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