This paper reports case studies of five Chinese secondary physics teachers' beliefs and instructional decisions in relation to inquiry-based teaching (IBT). It is part of a larger study intended to explore Chinese secondary physics teachers' beliefs and the ways in which their beliefs influence their classroom practices in the context of the current Chinese science curricular reforms around inquiry-based teaching. The study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, informal conversations and field notes to explore teachers' beliefs and instructional practices. A range of beliefs the five teachers held about the nature of science and physics, teaching and learning, and inquiry-based teaching exerted a complex set of influences on teachers' instructional decisions. Their perceptions of "what counts" as effective teaching seemed to be the predominant influence. These beliefs and their influence on teachers' instructional decisions should be understood within the current Chinese teaching context within which these teachers were working. They were pressed for time and were under high pressure to prepare students for the College Entrance Examination. They were attempting to teach a reformed, inquiry-based curriculum in a system lacking a complementary assessment system. These conditions are mirrored in many other education systems in the region and the world in which inquiry-based teaching is mandated, and the cases presented here contribute to the development of richer understandings of teachers' take-up of curricular reforms.