The Chinese dislike being touched by strangers. Do not touch, hug, lock arms, back slap or make any body contact. Clicking fingers or whistling is considered very rude. Never put your feet on a desk or a chair.
To show respect, it is very important to greet the oldest person in the group first. Make sure to not use the person's first name unless requested by them. They should be addressed with their surname, followed by 'lady', 'sir' or by their job title.
Don't put bones, seeds or other inedibles into in your rice bowl. Use a tissue or your hand to place them in the small plate provided — or observe how others deal with them. Don't tap your chopsticks. Tapping your bowl or the table with your chopsticks is considered rude and impolite.
A simple, soft handshake, a smile, and a friendly 'hi' or 'ni hao' (or 'nin hao' to greet older Chinese people) will often suffice. When addressing Chinese people, address the eldest or most senior person first. Also, address the newly-met people with their honorific title and family name.
The Chinese traditional cultural values of harmony, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, honesty, loyalty, and filial piety are embodied in China's diplomacy through the concept of harmony, the most important Chinese traditional value.
Basic Etiquette
Give and receive everything with two hands. Tipping is considered derogatory as it is something a superior does to an inferior. The correct decorum during interactions in China always entails showing deference to those who are older.
In Chinese culture, some of the most common taboos involve gift-giving, birthdays, and weddings.
Feeling like an outsider. Although Chinese society is welcoming and Chinese people are friendly to foreigners, regularly failing to understand the culture or language can make you feel isolated.
Always leave food on your plate in China.
That's not so in China. Finishing your plate when dining at someone's home in China suggests the food wasn't filling enough, and that your host was skimping on the portion size. Always leave behind a little food to show the host that their meal was filling and satisfying.
The "three red lines" metric put caps on debt-to-cash, debt-to-assets and debt-to-equity ratios and asked property developers to provide more details about their debts.
In Chinese or East Asian cultures, people bow to elders, superiors or others when appropriate in order to give respect or show appreciation; use both hands to receive business cards or presents from others to express gratitude and to display good manners; or bend over slightly while shaking hands with guests to extend ...
Making eye contact in China is a sure-fire way to make enemies, not friends. The Chinese people view eye contact as a necessary tool, but not in the same way that other cultures do. In China, people make eye contact when they are angry. It is meant to challenge the other person and is a sign of disrespect.
It is important to note that traditions and Confucian values are losing popularity in China. They still influence the way society functions; thousands of years of traditional education has deeply embedded Confucian concepts such as modesty, obedience, loyalty and filial piety into society.
China is generally safe for solo female travellers. Women should take the same precautions as they would in any other country, such as avoiding walking alone at night, being aware of their surroundings, and not carrying large amounts of cash.
Dashan 大山, AKA Mark Rowswell, has been called “the most famous foreigner in China”, where he has worked as media personality and cultural ambassador for over 25 years. It's hard to find anyone in China who does not know of Dashan.
It is widely known that Chinese people love red because it is perceived to symbolise luck, blessings and happiness. In contrast, blue is considered a 'taboo' colour. This belief is found in regional folktales and is especially strong in several parts of southern China, notably Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.
What is this? China prohibits naming children strange names. This law is strange as one would expect that the choice of a baby's name depends on the parents as they are the ones who gave birth. In China, it is quite different as the government does not allow naming a child a name that sounds weird.
Chinese Gift Giving Taboos || Avoid These
In China, is not a good idea giving clocks (送钟 sòng zhōng), umbrellas (伞, sǎn), pears (梨 lí) or shoes (鞋 xié) as they all have “bad” homophones: 送终 sòng zhōng) “attending a funeral ritual” (送终 sòng zhōng), (散 sàn) “to separate”, (离 lí) “leaving or parting” and (邪 xié) evil.
The Chinese dislike being touched by strangers. Do not touch, hug, lock arms, back slap or make any body contact. Clicking fingers or whistling is considered very rude. Never put your feet on a desk or a chair.
In formal situations, people bow slightly or nod politely to greet one another formally. The bow is from the shoulders and should be greater if the person you are greeting has a higher status than you. If seated, the Chinese will stand up out of respect when they are introduced to someone.