In the West, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the 14th of February. On this day lovers show their affection by giving each other presents. Even though Valentine’s Day is also celebrated in China now, the original Valentine’s Day in China is celebrated according to the moon calendar on the seventh day of the seventh month.[…]
Long ago, the Chinese people already loved drinking tea. Nothing has changed ever since. Chinese people perceive the process of making tea as a form of art and drinking tea as a real pleasure. Because bringing out the hidden flavours in tea requires a lot of time and skill, people who are going to drink[…]
The development of “hukou” has to do with the development of China as a whole. It is true that nowadays people still struggle with taking their hukou to another city or bringing their hukou from a certain city back to their home town. For Chinese, things are different. They cannot live in every city they[…]
Did you know that the difference between Chinese and Western culture results in a difference in business etiquettes as well? When two parties meet for the first time, shaking hands is a priority. In China you can obtain a lot of information from shaking hands. First, when looking at etiquettes, you have to wait until[…]
From early on, the Chinese people have strongly cared about etiquettes. They are all familiar with the old Chinese saying: ‘When you are given something it is not polite to give nothing in return.’ When Chinese family and friends visit each other during Chinese new year or other festivities, many presents are being exchanged. Giving[…]
Nowadays, almost every Chinese person has Wechat. Through Wechat you can send text and audio messages to family, friends and colleagues. At the same time, you can share a little bit of your life and you can play games with friends like on Facebook. The payment function from Wechat enables you to go out without[…]
In China many different kinds of relationships exist between people. When dealing with different people, it is normal to encounter social contradictions. In China, these kinds of contradictions are caused by one phenomenon: ‘mianzi’, or ‘face’. We could translate this into proud or ego. The meaning of ‘mianzi’ is that you don’t argue against somebody.[…]
In China you will encounter many political or business associated occasions at which you have the chance to dine and drink together with acquaintances. Most people believe the successfulness of negotiations depends on the atmosphere around the table. That is why there are many specific communication methods. Generally, if you propose a toast, you position[…]
We are Grace and Lieuwkje (菲菲和欣雅). Grace comes from China and Lieuwkje from the Netherlands. Despite our totally different culture and upbringings, our collaboration is going very well. We consider our friendship as something unique and special. Every day we discover more and more about each other’s language and culture. We have both developed a[…]