China etiquette and culture: dos, don'ts and local customs

China is low-friction for visitors who keep to a short list: no tipping, shared dishes at meals, and a calm, quiet manner in temples and at historic sites. Most finer points of etiquette are regional and generational, so treat them as check and copy the people around you.

The one thing that changes your day is payment: Alipay or WeChat Pay is the everyday default, and it cannot be fixed at the airport. Set it up before you fly.

Etiquette does not change with your passport, but two things do: how much English you can expect and how crowded the calendar is. Chinese New Year and the first week of October (National Day) are the busiest travel windows of the year, so trains and hotels fill early (check).

Nothing on this page has a ticket price. The only real costs are optional: a gift for a host, a tea set, or a nicer meal than you planned.

Before you fly, install Alipay or WeChat Pay and link a foreign card, and download an offline translation pack. Both make daily interactions shorter and calmer, which matters more for how you are treated than any bow or phrase.

On arrival, learn two phrases: nǐ hǎo (hello) and xièxie (thank you). They are not required, but they open doors in shops and taxis. In restaurants, the host or the eldest person usually orders and pays; if you are the guest, do not fight hard over the bill (check).

At meals, dishes arrive in the middle and everyone takes from them. Use the serving spoon if one is provided; if not, take from the edge of the dish nearest you. Do not stand chopsticks upright in rice, because it mirrors incense at funerals, and do not tap your bowl with chopsticks (check). Bones and shells go on the plate or the table edge, not back in the serving dish.

In temples and at historic sites, keep your voice down, do not photograph people praying, and step over the threshold rather than on it. At the Great Wall and other sites, do not carve or write on the brickwork.

In shops and markets, bargaining is normal at tourist stalls and not at supermarkets or chain stores. Keep it light and walk away if the price does not move. Queues at metro doors are orderly; in markets and at station gates, expect pushing and do not take it personally (check).

At a banquet, the host may toast with baijiu. Touching glasses slightly lower than the host's is a mark of respect. If you do not drink, say so early and raise tea instead; a small sip is usually enough to be polite (check).

This page is general guidance, not a rulebook. Big cities are used to foreign visitors and forgive most mistakes; smaller towns notice them more. If you are unsure, watch what the people around you do and copy it.

Two practical points sit outside etiquette but affect it. First, payment: without Alipay or WeChat Pay you will spend more time at counters, and some small vendors may not take cash. Second, connectivity: many Western apps and sites need a VPN, so set one up before you arrive.

If you are travelling with children or staying long term, the same rules apply, with one addition: schools and workplaces are more formal than tourist streets, so dress and greet accordingly.