By Corey Pyke. Corey lives in Xiamen, and has been a teacher in China since 2019.

 

Moving to China can be an incredibly rewarding experience, and understanding the local customs is the key to making the right impression. Chinese culture has many social and unspoken rules, that may be completely different to your home country. Whilst these rules may be thousands of years old and steeped in tradition, many people are very relaxed about most of them –  so don’t worry if you make a few mistakes!

 

✅ Do

  1. Refuse gifts a few times before accepting – This is very common in China, and whilst most people won’t be offended if you don’t do this, don’t be surprised if someone does it to you!
  2. Take part in toasts at meals – It is polite to stand and take part in toasts at formal meals. This is most likely to apply to you if you are out with senior members of your school. At school functions, it is common for every table to go up to the principal’s table to present their toast. There is no pressure for your drink to be alcohol, but make sure you have something in your glass! This doesn’t apply at meals with friends.
  3. Respect Elders – This one is very important. The main point of this one is that you greet the most senior person first, and use titles and surnames – but this is unlikely to apply to you as foreign teachers. So instead, take this to mean that you should always be friendly to elders. If they want to talk to you, try and have a few Chinese phrases ready (even if its just “ting bu dong zhongwen” – I don’t understand Chinese), they will be very happy that you are even attempting to speak Mandarin. Giving up your seat on the bus or subway will also go a long way, or even just a smile if they are looking at you.
  4. Be on time – Especially important at your new job, being on time or even being a bit early is a sign of respect and professionalism (as it is in most countries!). If you are invited to meals that involve senior school faculty, make sure you arrive early – the principal should be the last one to arrive.
  5. Give and receive gifts with two hands – This is meant as a sign of respect, and is especially important if you are giving and receiving gifts to either senior members of staff, or elder people.

 

❌ Don’t

  1. Stick chopsticks upright in a bowl – If you are eating out of a bowl, if you stick your chopsticks upright they are thought to resemble incense sticks at funerals, which is obviously very bad luck! Instead, place them on the side plate, or just hold them until you are finished eating.
  2. Give “unlucky” gifts – There are some gifts that should not be given, for example clocks or anything in sets of four. This is because the name in Mandarin is very similar to the word for “death”. White flowers are also the wrong gift to get!
  3. Wear a green hat – A bit more of a trivial one that is more well known among the younger generation, but a green hat is thought to mean that you are being cheated on by your partner. Wearing a green hat will definitely get you some stares and giggles!
  4. Be surprised by personal questions – It is very common for people to want to know information that we may feel is more “personal”. For example your age, whether or not you are in a relationship and even what your salary is. This is actually considered small talk in China. As the salary question is quite uncommon in the west, it is okay not to answer. If you do choose to answer, it may be good to downplay how much you earn, as it is likely that you are earning a lot more than locals in the same job.
  5. Show public displays of affection – Whilst holding hands is quite common in big cities – amongst both genders – that is often as far as it goes. China is a generally reserved society and people generally won’t do things that draw attention to themselves.

 

If you’d like to talk to us a out teaching in China you can get started by applying today.