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Interesting customs and traditions in China

Priscilla

Hello everyone,

Living outside of our home country requires us to adapt to a new culture and different traditions. What are some of the cultural specifics in China?

What are some of the traditional beliefs and cultural practices that you have encountered in China that are different to your home country?

Tell us a bit more about some of the customs that youÂ’ve found interesting, such as communication style, food, greetings, laws, or festivities.

What were your initial reactions and how did you adapt to them?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

See also

Living in China: the expat guideRoad safety in ChinaRaising bilingual kids in (or outside of) ChinaIs China now blocking LinkedIn?New members of the China forum, introduce yourselves here - 2025
VANNROX

Here's one.  Every day at 5:30pm my cleaning lady comes up to clean the office. In respect to me, she always brings me something to eat.  Usually it is a potato.  She cooks it and then reheats it in the company microwave.  It's really odd.

Accepting a hot potato before I go home to eat dinner seems very odd to me.

the hippo

Dear Priscilla,

I have written a lot about China in my blog, "Bulgaria with Noodles". Really it is supposed to be about Bulgaria and one day it will be. However, at the moment we are still in China, so a lot of my blog is about Shenzhen, just round the corner from Hong Kong.

You can find my blog at  bulgariawithnoodles.blogspot.com

VANNROX

Well, can you please tell me what is up with those stores in Bulgaria where to have to get on your knees to order.  Are they designed for very little people and little children, or what?

gvan6

well, I am getting prepared for an odd one (to me). A one-month sit-in after giving birth. For my wife that will mean one month inside with no internet and phone, no cold water, no washing hair, nothing is done... I read there are some health benefits of it but I do believe that 1 month is far too much in today's world, (that I believe that it all came from misunderstanding other traditions in the very past in my opinion) and despite, they are firm to do it, knowing it will become boring. She knows I don't get the concept, but I will be taking it as it comes. Will tell you in 2 months how things went.

VANNROX

@gvan6

Yup that's the way it is done.  I am surprised you did not mention that the wife can only drink warm red wine with ginger while she nurses the baby.  But, that might just be a regional Chinese thing.

Anyways, the baby is sure content all the time...

gvan6

Well, to my understanding it's just to avoid getting a weak body ill. Warm water as she said, but yes it could be a regional thing and such tradition changed in time too.

zhangfu

Not to mention some pretty foul food concoctions  :( (to help with breast milk?)

It amazes me how the Chinese love everything to do with new technology except medicine and health issues. First port of call is always ancient remedies, potions and traditions. To hell with modern science  ;)

I recently had a cold. My (Chinese) wife insisted on dosing me with some pretty yuccy potions and refuses to believe that there is no cure for the common cold. (Anything for a peaceful life)  :|

gvan6

A quick update, the month went over better than expected (with some minor clashes as relates to tradition). Well, maybe she is being more demand-driven than being traditional IMO. The shower thing didn't last 1week (after hospital) after an unintentional remark... but she still took great care (which is globally understood due to normal delivery conditions) on how to do it.
We didn't follow the tradition to have the husband's parents (mine) to come over as to concerns about their health, distance and older age (and not having a clue about all Chinese traditions) but her mother came over for 2 weeks and she cooked her a pork leg soup with peanuts. It was meant to help in increasing the milk supply. I think it did work but was not so necessary to my wife as she had actual problems (or gifted) with excessive supply in the beginning. Definitely, the excessive fat in the pig legs should help in producing heavier milk to the baby (which is good IMO and I am no health expert) as their daily diet (fish and vegetable foods and little meat) lack of certain energy demands and would have been too light to meet the growing demand of a baby being fed just Milk.
As for the phone and laptop thing... didn't last more than a day. she was taking pictures of the baby from day 1. She understood the demands and acted accordingly as overall (and also followed up a bit on work during her parental leave!!! and research on the baby about things we where not prepared about which is better than just accepting other's ideas as normally done in such tradition, but lets face it... in the end it is better than being lazy doing nothing). Probably if I was Chinese and she didn't have much of foreign influence, maybe she would have stuck more to traditions. Which in the end it meant to re-allign the lifestyle demands and re-set your priorities that today we do differently and more accustomed to continuous changes.

The baby also had his month sit in but we snuggled out after 3 weeks (if not mid 2nd wk) as I was concerned that the baby was way too much out of sunshine (with tall buildings all around) which should have helped him with Vitamin E I believe (don't quote me on this... its to what I recall I learned about sunshine to health benefits and I might be wrong) but it was like a secret mission to her parents and people outside where concerned they met us too early. It was a relief to us though to take some fresh air outside eve though for a short period.