Body Language in China

Body language is an important part of nonverbal communication and it is connected with culture. In order to make successful exchange in multi-cultural communication, we should know the body language from different cultures. Sometimes the same body language has different meanings in different cultures and has different social functions. Americans often touch their temples to express somebody’s c...

Culture of Chinese Zodiac

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar has been used in China for over three millennia. It counts the years in sixty-year cycles, utilizing combinations of two series of numbers known as the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches. The Chinese zodiac consists of a twelve-year cycle, with each year corresponding to one of the twelve Earthly Branches and represented by a different animal. ...

The Culture of Chinese Family Name

When the Chinese meet someone for the first time, they usually ask his/her surname by saying: "May I have your family name?" The family name is an important way of addressing each other. Chinese family name culture, which has survived for four or five thousand years, has recorded the formation of the Chinese nation in a special form of consanguinity culture and served ...

Food Convention of Qingming Festival

April 5th in the solar calendar is a traditional Chinese festival, Qingming Festival, which has a history of more than 2,500 years. Its name has two meanings. This day is not only a festival but also a solar term. The Chinese adage, planting around Qingming, means that when Qingming arrives, farmers should begin to plough. Besides the tradition of tomb sweeping, food...

Table Manners and Customs in China

In China, as with any culture, there are rules and customs that surround what is appropriate and what is not when dining, whether it is in a restaurant or in someone’s home. Learning the appropriate way to act and what to say will not only help you feel like a native, but will also make those around you more comfortable, and able to focus on you, instead of your interesting...

Tibetan New Year raises heritage protection awareness

At this time of year the Tibetan Autonomous Region sees an influx of tourists from all over the world. Along with the growth of tourism in the region comes the issue of protection and preservation of cultural heritage. Shiqu in the Tibet Autonomous Region, home of the famous Buddhist wall carvings, is also the source of many other mobile artifacts such as the Tangka and Buddhist sculptures. Ac...

Lantern markets spring up as Lunar New Year festivities end

Among the mountains of festive décor here, one theme is clear- horses are everywhere. These handmade, miniature horse-shaped lanterns come in various colors and designs. Some even come complete with hair and a tail. “When you buy a horse lantern you’re hoping for an auspicious year, a successful, happy, and wealthy year ahead.” said a vendor. And the image of the equine animal comes in many i...

Austere and beautiful lantern shows held across China

With the Chinese Lantern Festival approaching, many cities across China are holding lantern shows. The Qin Huai Lantern festival in Nanjing and the lantern show in Beidaihe in north China are very different, but this year they have one thing in common. Glamorous, but also austere. The 28th Qin Huai Lantern Festival in Nanjing in east China is held at the famous Nanjing Confucius Temple. The anc...

Spring Festival tourists rise 8.2%

Some 3.62 million tourists visited Shanghai during the holiday, generating revenue of 3.57 billion yuan (US$576 million), up 1 percent, the Shanghai Tourism Administration said. The Bund, Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall and Xujiahui received about 17 million visits during the holiday, while 120 tourist attractions monitored by the administration reported an 18 percent increase in to...

The Staycation: Celebrating Chinese New Year at Home

The Spring Festival may be the longest “Golden Holiday” in China but somehow exorbitant ticket prices and extreme crowding outweighs the extra leave days. So you have decided on a Chinese New Year staycation. If you have been working at breakneck pace all year, hibernating under the covers with all forms of communication turned off could sound more inviting than navigating the Spring Festival ru...