China Local Custom Tips by bellatrix

Chinese language (Mandarin)

Chinese has seven major language groups of which the Mandarin language group forms the largest group. The Mandarin group consists of a wide range of dialects in the northern, central, and western regions.

To say hello in Mandarin, say "Ni hao" (said like Nee-how)

To say thank you in Mandarin, say "Xie xie" (said like shay-shay or she-she)

Website: http://www.mandarintools.com/

Censorship

China is a communist country, and although there aren't many cases where this fact is evident, I've noticed that the internet in many places is censored. In public internet cafes I don't think it happens much, but I noticed that the public library internet was heavily censored. It seemed as if someone was actually watching the sites I was going to, and choosing which to restrict and which not to restrict. For instance, I tried to go to the Lonely Planet site, a seemingly innocuous travel site, and for the first few minutes I had no problems with the site.. then I would lose it, and when I asked for the woman behind the counter to come take a look, it inexplicably started working again. Then as soon as she left, poof! Gone again. Really creepy! I also noticed that at an internet cafe in Nanjing, most sites I tried to go to were censored. Shutterfly, CNN news, Mail.com... but BBC news wasn't censored. ;)

Bargaining

Bargaining is a way of life in China, especially if you look like a foreigner. So let's say you want to buy something. You ask the price, "duo shao qian" and wait for the response. Usually the price that gets quoted is right on, but now and then a shopkeeper will want to charge you a ridiculous price. My strategy in this instance, if I really want it, is first to look genuinely shocked, and then to smile, then quote an equally ridiculous price on the cheap end. And we end up meeting somewhere in the middle, at a mutually agreeable price. Sometimes though, I get tired of the game and don't feel like bargaining, and just walk away when the shopkeeper gives me a ridiculously expensive price. When I walk away, they invariably yell after me and lower the price to what it should really cost. But I usually just keep walking.

One thing that I've noticed about China is that people tend to be very honest in matters of business. They might try to rip you off by overcharging you if you have wimpy bargaining skills, but once you agree on a price, you don't have to count your change; I haven't been shortchanged once during the two months I've been in China. Oftentimes they give me back slightly more change than I was expecting, which is interesting.

Queueing and survival of the fittest

People in China have no concept of what it means to queue. (Queueing, by the way, means standing in line. We don't use that term much in the US, but the rest of the English-speaking world does. Must be a British thing.) When faced with a counter, instead of forming an orderly line on a first-come, first-served basis, people just crowd the counter and lightly push and shove their way to the front. So you end up having a mob of people all crowded around the counter, and it's survival of the fittest to see who gets the attention of the person behind the counter. People are good natured about it though, and the attitude is not at all hostile. It's just the way it is. When there does happen to be a proper queue (and this only happens when there are metal bars to enforce one) I've routinely had people cut in front of me as I stood at a counter, say, buying a train ticket or asking a question. It is so annoying! I think maybe because there are just so many people in China, there is a deep-seated insecurity when it comes to getting things done; there truly is a survival of the fittest consciousness in some ways.

Families in China

Before visiting China, I had an unquestioned presumption that Chinese women were rather oppressed. Must have been that Asian stereotype affecting my thinking again. Nothing could be further from the truth! Women in China are very liberated, and you get the distinct impression that they are running the show in many spheres of life. That is one good thing the Communists brought to China - more equality for women! I don't know just how far that equality truly reaches, but women here are certainly not the demure domestic slaves that I thought they might be. They are rather bold and assertive, and I must admit I'm a bit afraid of some Chinese women! They can be intimidating. :)
I noticed that many families have young children in China, and I also noticed that many women of child-bearing age are in the workplace. I wondered how women were working and being mothers at the same time, especially in a society with a very traditional family structure such as in China... then I noticed that during the day you often see grandparents taking care of the young children. Their family structure is set up very differently here, with the elders and extended family helping out in the family circle. I'm guessing they probably all live under one roof. Very interesting solution! Must be worlds better than day-care. :) And tradition and value systems get passed down that way.

Parents seem very good to their children in China. Indeed, children get spoiled here a good bit! It's not uncommon to see a daddy doing something like patiently holding his baby up so she can play with a balloon hanging from a shop door; or a mommy walking with a toddler, both eating ice creams and smiling at eachother. It seems like kids here get a lot of devoted attention, which is nice to see. I believe China still operates under the one child per household rule, so that one child gets all the love and attention. I don't think the pets fare so well though... there doesn't seem to be much of an animal-rights awareness in China.

Chinese mealtime

One thing about the Chinese that amazes me is that they eat EVERYTHING! Things I wouldn't even imagine eating, or think edible, they eat here. Everyone has heard that the Chinese eat dog, and that's true. But don't worry, there's little chance of accidentally eating dog, as it's a delicacy and they put the dog fur outside the restaurant when they are serving dog that day so that people know it's dog day. While walking through a market in China, it's common to see big sacks full of dried seafood and other strange delights. You might see a bundle of dried snakes, dried bundles of the skinned forearm and claws of some sort of animal (really gross looking, ack!), dried seahorses, dried shrimp, dried starfish, or some kind of centipede looking things. The smell of this section of a Chinese market is extremely pungent with seafood, as you might imagine! Also, most markets have an area where live animals are picked out and slaughtered right there for you. Of course, being a vegetarian, I always avoid this area and can't stomach even walking past without gagging! The smell coming from this area of the market is absolutely revolting. It's a sick-sweet smell, the smell of death and blood and innards... it's not a fresh smell at all, it's somehow distinctly unclean smelling. Even if I weren't a vegetarian, I don't think I'd eat meat again after smelling that smell!
The wierdest thing I've seen people eat was drunken shrimp in Shanghai. They bring out a bowl of shrimp in alcohol - live shrimp! - they are grey and translucent, and crawling around in the bowl, and sometimes they jump out onto the table... and once they stop jumping around and are sufficiently drunken, people eat them - alive! Really wierd.

Hawking loogies

Hawking a loogi is an artform here. Everyone does it, all the time. About once a minute on a street in China you'll hear it - HAWWWK! Pleh! - I've seen people spit on restaurant floors, train floors, airport floors... you get the idea. It's very acceptable here. I had a little chest cold a while back, and I tried out my loogi-hawking skills. I must say, it's a liberating experience to be able to just get it over with, rather than try to find a place to spit politely. :)