When you visit China, you’ll discover an incredible array of things to do and places to see. However, to truly get the most out of your experience, it’s helpful to have an understanding of Chinese culture.
There are many customs and behaviours which are quite different from elsewhere and it’s easy to cause unintentional offence if you don’t learn the basics before you travel. Below are four essential tips to etiquette which will help to truly immerse you in Chinese culture.
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Greetings
China is a country where “face” matters. This means giving others respect, especially in public situations. This begins from the moment you first meet so it’s important that your greeting is appropriate and suitably respectful.
Age is a major factor in greetings. Younger people should always show deference to older people which means greeting them first. Rank and seniority is also a factor, and the more senior person should be greeted first. Men are typically greeted before women too.
If you are following traditional customs and bowing in greeting, you should bow more deeply from the shoulders for someone who is older than you. However, not everyone bows these days as handshakes are common. Take your cue from your Chinese counterpart.
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Personal Space
Every culture has its own perception of personal space and in China it’s slightly further apart than you might find elsewhere. Most Chinese people will stand at least an arm’s length away from each other, even when on friendly terms.
During conversation, it’s not a good idea to touch the person you are speaking to as this is heavily frowned upon. In your culture a light touch on the shoulder, arm or hand might be viewed as inclusive and friendly, but in China it could make the person very uncomfortable.
However, China can also be a country of contrasts and if you visit one of the packed tourist areas or take public transport, you’ll be thrust into large crowds. You’ll find yourself in very close proximity to others – and the Chinese people won’t even seem to notice. Rubbing elbows or banging into someone is commonplace and in China, it’s not expected that you will apologies or stop.
When it comes to personal space, it’s a country of extremes. Remember to respect personal space and avoid over-familiarity when speaking to people – but accept that in busy cities, you may be cheek-to-jowl with those around you.
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Table Manners
Etiquette is important in Chinese culture so it won’t be a surprise to discover that table manners are vital. If you’re not accustomed to eating with chopsticks you may find it beneficial to practice before you travel.
When your meal is served, don’t begin eating before the head of the table. This is the person sat opposite the entrance. If you’ve been honoured with this spot everyone will be waiting for you to start before they eat!
You should never spear food with your chopsticks, nor lick them. You should also not eat the rice on its own; this will be interpreted as disdain for the other dishes. Use the serving utensils to help yourself to small amounts of the other dishes, making sure you don’t take the last bit.
It’s also bad manners to dig around for the choice morsels; just take a portion and place on top of your rice. Never use your personal chopsticks to dish up. There should be serving utensils but if not, turn your chopsticks around and use the other end.
Hands are never used to eat even for chicken drumsticks or similar. Use your chopsticks to tear the food into smaller pieces which can then be lifted to the mouth.
One final thing: never point with your chopsticks or place them upright in your bowl of rice. Both are considered an enormous faux pas in Chinese culture!
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Timeliness
If you have a loose concept of time, you will find yourself causing offence in China. Punctuality is considered to be very important and being late is a sign of disrespect. When you are given a time to attend, that’s when you are expected to be there. If you arrive 10-15 minutes later you may have missed an important part.
Numbers are an auspicious part of Chinese culture and this may be factored into a start time. Therefore, you may receive an invitation for an event at 11:58 rather than the more conventional western 12:00. The same principles about timeliness hold true and if you think you’re even going to be a minute or two late, you should get in touch to let them know.
Discover China
There are many more fascinating aspects to Chinese culture but these four basic elements will give you a great start to allowing you to completely