Culture & Etiquette

1. At the table

• Shared dishes: the lazy Susan turns clockwise; check nobody is mid-reach before you spin;
• Toasts: clink with your glass rim lower than an elder's/host's as respect; “I'll drink tea instead of wine” or “medication/allergy” excuses baijiu completely;
• The bill fight: friends racing to pay is normal — make a show of trying, but letting the host win is also good manners; splitting grows among the young;
• Chopsticks: never upright in rice (funeral imagery), never drum bowls, never point at people;
• Leftovers: a generous table is the host's statement — don't be embarrassed; take leftovers home, it's now the good habit.

2. Gifts & numbers

• Safe gifts: tea, home-country specialities, books;
• Avoid: clocks (sounds like "attending a funeral"), umbrellas (sounds like "parting"), white/black wrapping (funerals), chrysanthemums (grave flowers);
• Numbers: 6, 8, 9 are loved (smooth, prosperity, longevity); 4 sounds like "death" — harmless for room numbers, but avoid 4-ending price tags on gifts;
• Refusal before accepting is politeness: a gift declined once or twice still lands — persist gently; opening on the spot is optional.

3. Religion & ethnic areas

• Buddhist temples: walk clockwise; photography inside halls usually banned (read signs); incense donations voluntary;
• Muslim etiquette: don't bring food/alcohol into halal restaurants, skip pork topics; mosques — knees covered, shoes off, visit outside prayer times; during Ramadan avoid eating openly in front of fasting Muslims;
• Tibetan areas: koras always clockwise; sky-burial sites are absolutely off-limits to visitors and cameras; never disturb mani stones or prayer flags;
• Miao/Dong villages: the gate-blocking welcome drink is honor — a sip with a smile suffices; hearth and sacred trees are special spaces; ask before photos.

4. Photography manners

• Ask before photographing people (elders in festival dress, monks, pilgrims, children) — eye contact + raising the camera says it in any language;
• Military zones, border checkpoints and airport security: no photos;
• Museum flash bans protect the objects — obey the signs;
• Drones: most cities require registration or ban flights outright; check per attraction before launch.

5. Public space norms

• Queuing is strict: cutting gets called out publicly; watch screens for your number;
• Smoking (vapes included) banned on transit and indoors — fines ¥50–200;
• Loudspeaker videos and phone shouting draw stares; eating is banned on tier-1 metro cars;
• Tipping still isn't customary (see payments) — but gratitude to porters and guides always lands;
• “Face”: correcting or arguing in public embarrasses everyone — move disagreements somewhere private.

6. When you're the attraction

In smaller cities and villages, a foreign face draws stares — even photo requests. It's almost always curiosity, not hostility; smile along if you're willing, wave it off politely if not. The same courtesy applies in reverse when you photograph locals.