Chinese Culture and Lifestyle
China is a vast country at a size of 9.6m sq km and is rooted with thousands of years of rich culture and history: the Great Wall, Chinese Emperors, Terra Cotta Amy, Summer Palace, Gongfu, Chinese food and Chinese medicine, which are being appreciated by every corner of the earth.
It was only a few years ago that Mainland China was seen as a mystery to most people outside China. Now three decades after its reforming and opening-up policy, China has raced from a third world country to one of the world’s most influential and powerful nations. Its fast-growing economy has taken the world by surprise. The sleeping lion is waking up.
More and more people are travelling to China for business, trade and leisure. Teaching English in China is no doubt the best way to experience its culture and learn its language. Since ancient times, Chinese people have had the tradition of respecting teachers and prioritising education. Confucius (551-479/BC) has been respected by the Chinese as a philosopher and educator.
You can have fun and enjoy Chinese culture in every corner of China: walk on Great Wall in Beijing (North), suntan on silky beaches on Hainan Island (South), visit minority tribes in Yunnan (West) and check out the 19th Century European buildings in Qingdao (East).
There are many festivals in China including Chinese New Year Festival, Chinese Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qing Ming Festival, ChongYang Festival and Moon Festival. Chinese public holidays include 1st January (New Year Day), 1st May (International Labour Day), and 1st October (Chinese National Day).
China is known as a state of etiquette and ceremonies. Many proverbs have been passed down from generation to generation such as “civility costs nothing” and “courtesy demands reciprocity”.
Shaking hands is most common way of greeting. Bowing, a way of conveying respect to the higher level, is rarely used in modern Chinese life. Chinese youngsters tend to simply nod as a greeting. This evolution reflects the ever-increasing paces of modern life. It is regarded as rude for the junior to address the senior their Christian names. It is always safe to use Mr or Mrs. However, things can be quite different when you have get to know them well. Chinese actually are humorous enough to appreciate good English jokes.
Gifts play an important part in showing courtesy. It is appropriate to give gifts on such occasions as festivals, weddings, birthday parties, or visiting a patient. Gifts like fruits, flowers, tea, wine, and cigarettes are always safe choice. You need to pay a little attention to the cultural differences. For wedding and birthday parties, you need to give gifts in pairs as the old saying goes that blessings come in pairs. No. 4 should be avoided as it reads like death in Chinese, so is pair for being the same pronunciation of separation. If you visit a patient, try to avoid apples in the fruit basket as apple sounds like “illness” in Chinese.
With the influence of American culture, Chinese youth, especially those middle class professionals (famously known as white collars in China) in big international cities like Beijing and Shanghai, are seeking a brand-name stylish life. Those fashionable white collars would start their day by having breakfast at McDonald’s, having lunch at Pizza Hut and finish their day by having a candle-lit romantic French meal. Starbuck is an ideal place to enjoy a cup of bitter coffee and loneliness. Burberry coats, Rolex watches and Gucci handbags are something they cannot do without. For teenagers, they prefer to talk mixed with a few English words rather than speak a full English sentence. They believe that is cool.
In summary, today’s China is not like something you have seen in old Chinese films: men’s long ponytails, women’s small feet, or a bowel of rice.