Which giant separated heaven and earth?

The giant who separated heaven and earth in Chinese mythology is Pangu.

According to the best-known creation story, the universe began as a chaotic mass resembling a cosmic egg. Pangu emerged inside it and used a great axe to divide the opposing forces of yin and yang. The clear, light yang rose to become heaven, while the darker, heavier yin settled as earth. Pangu then stood between them, pushing the sky upward so the two realms would not collapse back together.

Some versions say this separation lasted 18,000 years, with Pangu growing as heaven rose and earth thickened. After his death, parts of his body became features of the natural world: mountains, rivers, wind, clouds, and celestial bodies. This makes him both a separator of the cosmos and a cosmic ancestor of the landscape.

The story is not among China’s oldest creation traditions. The earliest known written account is attributed to Xu Zheng during the Three Kingdoms period, around the 3rd century CE. Fuxi, Nüwa, and Hou Yi are important mythic figures, but none is the standard answer to this question.