Don't tip
Not in restaurants, not in taxis, not in hotels. It isn't expected and can cause mild confusion. Tour guides and drivers on private multi-day tours are the one exception, and even there it's optional.
This saves you money and awkwardness. It is the single most useful thing on this page.
At the table
- Everything is shared. Dishes go in the middle and you eat from them. Ordering one dish each per person is the standard mistake; two or three dishes between two people is plenty.
- Don't stick chopsticks upright in rice. It resembles incense at a funeral. Lay them across the bowl or the rest.
- Tea gets refilled constantly. Tapping two fingers on the table is a quiet thank you.
- Someone will fight you for the bill. This is normal and mostly theatre, but if you're being hosted, let them win and reciprocate later.
- Slurping noodles is fine. So is putting bones on the table or in a side dish.
- Toasting: if someone toasts you with 干杯 (*gānbēi*, "dry the cup"), they mean it literally. 随意 (*suíyì*, "as you like") lets you sip. You can decline alcohol entirely; "I don't drink" is accepted.
Volume and personal space
Public conversation is louder than in Northern Europe or North America, queues are more of a suggestion, and personal space in a metro or a queue is smaller. None of this is rudeness and it isn't directed at you.
Pushing into a lift before people get out is normal. You may need to be slightly more assertive than feels polite at home just to get off a train.
Face
The thing most worth understanding. Publicly criticising, correcting or cornering someone — especially a member of staff in front of others — makes the problem harder to fix, not easier. Chinese service culture resolves things quietly and indirectly.
If something's wrong, stay calm and friendly, and ask for help rather than demanding a fix. It works far better.
Photos
Ask before photographing people, especially in rural areas and ethnic-minority regions where tourists have made a habit of not asking. Don't photograph police, military sites or border areas at all.
Expect to be photographed yourself in less touristed areas, and sometimes asked for a photo with you. It's curiosity, not hostility.
Topics to leave alone
Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong politics, Tiananmen, and the leadership. Not because you'll be arrested for an opinion over dinner, but because it puts the Chinese person you're talking to in a genuinely difficult position. They have to live there.
If someone raises it, listening is fine. Leading with it isn't.
Small things that make you easier to deal with
- 你好 (nǐ hǎo) and 谢谢 (xièxie) go a long way. Nobody expects more.
- Accept things with both hands, especially business cards and gifts — a small gesture that registers.
- Shoes off in a private home. Slippers will be offered.
- Smoking is banned indoors in major cities and the rule is now generally enforced.
- Be early. Punctuality is taken seriously.