People always tell you what to do in China, but what about what NOT to do in China? Here is part 2 of our top tips of what you really should NOT do in China. Splitting Bills If you have invited Chinese people out to lunch or to dinner, then you will be expected to pay. In China, if somebody invites you, they will pay for you. During other occasions when sharing lunch and dinner, if you can afford to pay for the meal, it is a very nice gestures to do so. You don’t split bills with people you don’t know! Often the other person will refuse to let you pay but if you insist, they should back down. The same goes the other way, you can politely refuse the offer but if they insist hard, you should let them pay. Keeping Your Shoes On Don’t wear your shoes into peoples homes, it’s that simple! It’s not so much a case of ancient tradition, it’s more just for hygiene and something that resounds across the whole of China. In China, they see it as being very unhygienic to wear shoes indoors and in some cases, you will even be given house shoes or slippers to wear by your host. In most cases, you’ll be in socks or bare feet. You’ll notice in many houses shoes, slippers, flip flops etc in a large pile near the front door! Ew, That Looks Disgusting It’s a great honour to be invited to somebody’s home for dinner. The last thing you’d want to do is offend them. The worst thing you could do would be to not eat or even try the food. If you can, try and taste as many dishes as you can and make sure you praise the food highly! If you are not that hungry, eat slowly so that the other people round the table eat more than you. Also, don’t eat the last piece of food on a plate. It may come across greedy and also give the impression that you are still hungry which will often lead to even more food being brought out or made. Addressing Elders By First Name When addressing people who are much older than you, you can never go wrong with “阿姨 āyi” (woman) and “叔叔 shūshu” (men). You must never address your elders (especially relatives of friends/partners) by their first name, as this shows disrespect and lack of understanding of one’s place. If they tell you how to call them, do so. If they don’t, you can also call them by their position in the family, such as “爷爷 yéye” (grandfather) or “奶奶 nǎinai” (grandmother), or otherwise by their surname and position, such as “Wang yeye” (grandfather Wang) or “Sun nainai” (grandmother Sun). Other people that are not close to you, to whom you wish to show respect, can be called by their family name + 老师 lǎoshī (teacher), such as “Wang laoshi” if they come from a more academic background, or by their family name + 师傅 shīfu (master), such as “Li shifu” if they come from a more technical background. |
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