Subject & Course Guides: Mandarin Chinese Language Guide: Cultural Differences

Interactions with People

Familial form of address: Chinese people refer to their friends and even strangers in familial terms such as "sister", "brother", "aunt", or "uncle". This does not mean there is necessarily a blood relation.
When speaking with an older man, you should refer to him as "叔叔"/uncle and when speaking to an older woman, you should refer to her as "阿姨"/auntie. This is a show of respect, used regardless of whether you know the person or not.
Occupation-related form of address: You may also refer to any older man you aren't familiar with (such as bus/taxi drivers, but really anyone) as "师傅"/master worker. Different places use different forms of address.
Hugging: Chinese people typically do not hug when greeting or saying goodbye- this is usually reserved for intimate couples (often in a more private situation.) This is important to remember because any hugging between people of the opposite sex will be understood to be romantic.
Hugging between friends of the same sex is less common than in the U.S. but still happens. It's best to not hug people unless you are sure because what is comfortable to you may not be comfortable to other people.
"You got fatter!": Common to say someone got fatter or thinner if you haven't seen each other in awhile. It is not an insult and does not carry the same negativity that it does in the U.S.; it's just an observation. However, you probably shouldn't tell a woman she got fatter.
"Have you eaten?": It is a common greeting to ask someone if they have eaten or not. This is not unlike asking someone "how are you?" but the answer is whether you have eaten or not. It's not necessarily an invite to eat somewhere like it is in the U.S. This question is asked because having eaten was not something that was always guaranteed or assumed in the past; it is an act of caring about the other person's wellbeing.

Gesturing "no": waving of the hand much like waving hello but straight in front of (and sometimes closer to) the body.
Gesturing "come over": to gesture for someone to come over, you put your palm down, not palm up, and move your fingers toward you a few times.
You also hold your arm out in this position to call a cab (finger movement unnecessary.)
Both hands for respect: When giving or receiving gifts, handing over or taking back money or cards, use both hands.

Water: Do not drink water straight out of the tap in China. It is not safe to drink. Buy bottled water or use boiled water.
Chopsticks: Do not stick your chopsticks straight up in your rice. This is reminiscent of incense for the dead. Lay them across your plate/bowl instead or on chopstick rests if provided.
Do not set chopsticks on the dirty table or grab the ends you eat with with your hands- you are probably eating family-style and must be considerate of other people eating from the same dish.
Do not click your chopsticks like drumsticks.
Dishes: Usually no individual dishes- only family style, meant to be shared with other people. It is much more common to eat out with your friends and coworkers instead of alone or at home.
If you are eating in a banquet-setting, there will be a lazy susan with dishes placed on it. Just take a normal amount of food (don't load up) when a dish comes around and wait for it to come back around again. It's best to be patient and not spin the lazy susan around just for yourself- you should be considerate of others.
There will probably be more dishes than you anticipate. Pace yourself- the "main courses" are near the end so don't get full on the small appetizers or you will regret it later when you have to eat even more.
Seating: Pay attention to seating- it is arranged depending on what role you play in a dinner (host, friend/helper of host, most important guest, second most important guest etc) in relation to the main door or the eastern direction. Wait for people to direct you. This is not important when eating casually with friends.
Drinking: complements any dinner gathering to make things very lively and enjoyable.
You are not supposed to just pour your own drink. You pour drinks for other people before yourself. This applies to all drinks, not just alcohol.
If you do not drink it may be very difficult to avoid people pressuring you to drink anyway; it may help to have another drink to supplement and still participate in what's going on. It's very rude to just reject a drink/toast.
The goal is to able to hold your liquor and not get too too drunk (although some people do.)
Toasts: At dinners there are a series of toasts throughout the meal that you must participate in. If you are clinking glasses with someone, make sure to lower your glass (to clink yours on the lower side of their glass) as a show of respect to the other person.
If you are too far away to clink glasses with someone and can't reach, clink your glass on the table first instead.
Who eats first: Wait until the guest/most respected person helps them self to food first before eating.
Pressure: How much a guest is eating and drinking is equated with how much a guest is enjoying him/herself. If you are the guest, hosts will pressure you to eat and drink more (taking initiative and putting food on your plate and pouring drinks for you to help alleviate the assumed shyness of guests to help themselves.)
If you really can’t eat/drink more you have to politely (and skillfully) explain and continue to show you are enjoying yourself.
Amount of food: There will always be too much food- “finishing your plate” is an indicator the host didn’t make/order enough food and is embarrassing.
Smoking: Men often give each other cigarettes while eating together as a kind of closeness/friendliness and bond-building.
To-go: At banquet-style dinners, people typically do not take leftover food to go, even though there may be so many dishes that some of the food has hardly been eaten yet. It is seen as embarrassing and a loss of face. However, some people may offer for you, the guest, to take something home if you really like it and that's okay. In casual settings with friends, taking leftover food to-go is fine but if you're not paying, you should probably make sure it's okay.

Planning: Loose planning, anything can be changed at any time. You must be able to just go with the flow.
Time: “Just 1-hour away” could actually be 2…or 3. Again, you have to be more flexible and less schedule-oriented to adapt.
Meeting up: It is important to show up early to an arranged meet-up with a superior.

Talking about people's appearances: In China, people talk about people’s appearance to them much more honestly and openly
Ex. Can say someone “got fatter/thinner lately”, which is typically a part of a greeting, not negatively perceived or rude (but probably don't tell a woman she got fatter.)
Ex. It is common for Chinese people to say foreigners (primarily white people) have big noses or tall/high noses (referring to the bridge of the nose.) This is not an insult, just an observation.
It's typical for men to say another man is “handsome”.
Indirectness: Overall though, people are much more indirect in China than in the U.S.
Many things are implied rather than said outright. It is the job of the listener to gather the implied meaning.

Collectivism: emphasis on collective rather than individual action or identity.
Loyalty to family and devotion to traditions prioritized over individual feelings.
Family: Family is very valued and the family name is of high importance. There is a preference for male children to carry on the family name for this reason.
Filial Piety: Being filial to one's parents and grandparents etc is incredibly important in Chinese culture. This includes caring for parents in their old age (since they cared for their children), giving them money and gifts, making sure they are warm/cool enough, visiting often or moving in together, etc. Nursing homes are viewed negatively/sympathetically and the law is set up to protect older generations from financial hardship caused by unfilial children.
关系/Guānxi: Personal relations (guānxi) take precedence over rules. If someone is incompetent but has guānxi (ex. is related) they can still be hired in a position they are not capable of doing and remain there. Guānxi is necessary to have to get anything done in Chinese culture- you must consider and use who you know.
Face: Giving face is very important and losing face is to be avoided. (See Face/面子 tab)
Confucianism: Although Confucianism has had an enormous and lasting effect on the ideologies of Chinese people, many Confucian ideas were (often violently) replaced with the ideas of Communism/Socialism on the mainland and these have waned today.
Harmony: Maintaining harmony is very important in Chinese culture. This can be seen in situations where something may be wrong but someone does not speak up to avoid disturbing things.
Restraint: Chinese people are more likely to put up with a negative situation and not say anything or speak out because of the value "忍" rĕn (to bear/endure/tolerate.)
Modesty: Upon receiving compliments, it is polite to not just say "thank you" (although sometimes that's okay), but to reject what has been said and/or turn the compliment around on others. For example, if someone compliments your work on a project, it is best to immediately give credit to others you are working with.

Influence: Parents have much more influence in decision-making in their child's life, regardless of their age.
Pressure: Parents will exert considerable pressure on their children to do certain things such as study hard, lose weight, get a good job, get married, have children, etc. Despite whatever annoyances this may cause, this is understood as caring.
Support: Children typically live with their parents until marriage and in many cases they continue to receive financial support after that until the children begin to care for their parents.
(see filial piety under the values tab)
Childcare: Grandparents care for their grandchildren while their parents are working. This is viewed positively and is expected of grandparents.

Personal relations: Extremely important, must have personal relations (guānxi) with people to get anything done (Ex. to attend a particular school, get a good job, get a good deal on a purchase, get paperwork done...)
Reciprocal: Guānxi is also reciprocal- if someone helps you or pays for a meal you, for the most part, must reciprocate in the future. Keep a mental record of the "turns" taken in guānxi. This is a kind of "social debt".

Superiors: Maintaining/giving face is very important so people typically don’t “call out” the mistakes or incompetency of superiors. For example, if a teacher is incorrect, students in China typically don't point it out in order to retain the teacher's face. If you do point things out, there may be real consequences (ex. partial grading, graduation issues, etc.)
“Giving face”: showing deference/praising publicly. Face is given by others to the person, not simply obtained.
“Losing face”: being disgraced/humiliated
“Loving face”: being sensitive about one’s reputation/how one is regarded by others. Ex. Buying expensive cars to show off
An example of "face" is a person treating others to a large, expensive meal with tons of dishes and others give that person face by attending, being treated, and showing appreciation. "Losing face" would be if the bill came and the host could not pay for the whole meal and had to ask for help. (Because of the importance of "face", this is not an event you will probably ever witness.)

Receiving: In China it is polite to not open gifts upon receiving them. Opening gifts immediately may appear greedy or embarrassing. People wait until later to open gifts when not in front of the person.
Attitude: It is polite to show a little bit of resistance (being modest and expressing that the other person shouldn't do so much) when receiving a gift instead of just taking it and saying thank you.
After politely resisting/rejecting, it is polite to finally accept the gift. It is rude to absolutely reject it.
Gifts are intended to strengthen relationships and are offered in personal and business relationships.
Do not offer the same gift to people of different status.
Guānxi: Keep in mind that any gifts and favors that are accepted are expected/hoped to be reciprocated with other gifts/favors in the future. The person will come to you in the future asking for a favor and socially you are obligated to do it (within reason) because they helped you.
Gifts must be returned with other gifts of the exact same value.
Do not give an over-the-top expensive gift. The other person may be embarrassed because they can't reciprocate with a gift of the same value or think it's a bribe.
Visiting a home: When visiting a person's home, it is polite to bring a gift. An easy gift is nice tea (ask a Chinese friend for assistance with this.) You may bring a gift from the U.S. that is difficult to purchase in China.
Weddings: Money is given at weddings in a red envelope. Make sure to give crisp, clean money. The amount of money given at weddings is determined by the closeness of the relationship.
Brands: A product's value is judged based on what brand it is. If you are buying a gift locally, make sure it is a good brand, not an off-brand.
No clocks!: Do not give a clock or watch as a gift. Mandarin Chinese employs tons of homophones and clock, 钟(zhōng), sounds like 终(zhōng), which means to end/die.
Colors to avoid: White is symbolic for death/funerals so avoid this color (including white flowers.) Black is also best avoided.
Colors to use: Red symbolizes good luck but do not write a person's name in red.
Numbers: Avoid the number "4" sì/四 because it sounds like sĭ/死 "die". "8" is an auspicious number and good to use. Chinese people take the number "13" more seriously than Westerners and is an imported superstition. There may be floors in buildings with no 13th floor.

Requesting privacy: usually regarded as hiding (bad) secrets
Hospital visits: a communal experience. To see a doctor, you go to the hospital.
It's not a private doctor's visit, nor do you need a prior appointment.
You might have to wait in line for a long time and people waiting for their turn will come into the room while you're meeting with the doctor. (see Hospitals & Pharmacies tab for more information)
Exchanging numbers: Totally normal to exchange cell phone numbers (or add each other on social media such as Weixin/Wechat) quickly after meeting.

Skin: White skin is seen as beautiful and dark skin is not.
This is because white skin shows you do not have to do manual labor and have a certain social status; in the U.S., tans are preferred because there is a certain social status assigned to people who can afford to go on vacation to the beach or suntan.
Women (and some men) carry umbrellas to shield their body from the sun.
There are lots of face whitening beauty products in China. These are much easier to find than actual sunscreen, oddly enough, so if you burn easily and don't plan on adopting an umbrella you might want to bring some.
Young Chinese men are much more likely to own lots of facial skin care products than American men.
Some older women wear head scarves, long sleeves, even gloves to protect their skin from the sun.
A compliment that a Chinese girl has a "nice tan" will not be well received.
Face shape: More of a heart-shaped face with the chin coming to a small point is viewed as beautiful in women.
Eyes: Double eyelids are often preferred over mono-lids in both men and women. Some young women wear tape on their eyes or get surgery to create a double eyelid. Large eyes are preferred over smaller eyes.
Weight: Very thin body types are preferred in women.
Girls often tell/remind their friends if they are getting too fat (to show concern.)

Chinese medicine: considers the opposing forces of yin/yang, hot & cold, etc. As a result, many people pay attention to the temperature of the food and drinks they ingest when considering health.
If a woman says she cannot ingest cold things, it probably means she's on her period so just say, "okay" and don't push the issue.
People may be more inclined to use Chinese medicine first to treat a problem and only use Western medicine if traditional medicine fails.
Air conditioners turned on very high will make people very uncomfortable. It is common to worry about getting too cold.
In the early morning, many elderly people walk (sometimes backwards) and do exercises with their arms like clapping. Some people also wake up early to do Taiqi.
Yelling/shouting in the morning is probably someone exercising.
Hot drinks: preferred over cold drinks. Hot water is available anywhere.
Face masks: worn by sick people in China but also by those living in places with really bad pollution. It is a good idea to invest in a quality face mask to filter your air if you are staying in a polluted city for awhile.

Spitting: Chinese people (often men) spit outside and even inside sometimes. This comes from the idea in Chinese medicine that phlegm is harmful and needs to be removed from the body.
Crotch-less pants: Diapers and keeping waste close to the body are seen as harmful and dirty; most small children wear crotch-less pants so they can squat and go to the bathroom outside whenever they need to.
Clothing: Unlike in the U.S., where wearing the same outfit two days in a row is a sort of social faux pas, people in China may do this. It is important to remember that, if you were washing your own clothes, you probably wouldn't worry about this. Many people have washers in China but they are not accessible to all.

Smaller Bubbles: Much less personal space is required by Chinese people than Americans.
If you require lots of personal space, it's not very realistic to live in a large city where there are tons of people.
Touching: It's common for girls to hold hands and for guys to put their arms around each other's shoulders.

Public transportation: It is common in China for people to cut in line or push ahead of you to get onto the subway or bus and into the few empty seats.
With the large population comes competition
Everywhere: Line-cutting occurs in many situations where there is waiting involved

Ethnic groups: China is very diverse and has 56 (recognized) ethnic groups including the Han majority.
Languages: China is also very linguistically diverse and hosts an incredible amount of dialects and languages; a large portion are not mutually intelligible. Mandarin Chinese is regarded as the standard.
Race: Racially homogenous in (mostly eastern) areas with Han people comprising over 90% of the population in China. Racial bias is much more prevalent and accepted.
Do not expect what is politically correct in the U.S. to apply to China and vice versa.
Foreigners: Foreign visitors are often treated very well and as an attraction on their own- with incessant picture-taking, staring/observing, and hospitable behavior.
A lot of times the treatment of foreigners exceeds the treatment of other Chinese citizens. For example, workers in a hospital may move you to the front of the line in front of Chinese citizens who have been waiting.
Chinese people are very concerned with how China is viewed by foreigners and want to give a positive impression of everything. Some people may not be open about negative things about China.
Although left-handed people make up 10-12 percent of the world's population, only about 1 percent of people in China are left-handed. If you are a left-handed traveler in China, people will find it interesting if you eat or write with your left hand.

Clothing: Unlike portrayals of China in movies, the majority of Chinese people wear Western-influenced clothing today. Young people frequently wear jeans and t-shirts. Older generations wear more Chinese clothing.
In general, Chinese women dress more conservatively than women in the U.S. and don't wear shirts with their shoulders or cleavage exposed or short shorts/skirts.
However, young women in large cities often dress less conservatively.
Events: More traditional Chinese clothing (such as the qipao for women) may be reserved for special events such as certain dinners.
A bride and groom may wear Western wedding clothing and Chinese wedding clothing in the same wedding and change clothes many times. (By the way, you give money at weddings, not gifts.)
Makeup: Chinese women usually don't wear any or a lot of makeup. Although many young women like to wear makeup, heavy makeup is often associated with prostitutes.
Tattoos: viewed negatively as they were used throughout history to identify criminals with forced tattooing.
In large cities and certain areas of China, some young people (more commonly men) get tattoos.
If you are doing anything professional, it's probably best to cover your tattoos.

Public Establishments

The Great Firewall: Websites such as Facebook, Youtube, Google, etc. do not work in China for political reasons. These websites are blocked.
A VPN can help you leap over this "Great Firewall" to gain wider internet access. Set it up before you go because you probably won't be able to access the VPN website on your computer when you get there.
There are internet police that patrol what is posted online. Be aware of this when communicating online.
Political hot topics: (Taiwan, Tibet, etc) can be talked about in private (pay attention to ethics- you do not want to endanger anyone or yourself) but cannot be spoken about openly or in public.
It is best to not bring up these topics in the classroom either- you could cause problems for your teacher or yourself. Sometimes a person will sit in on classes taught to foreigners to observe the content (ex. a Chinese history class) and make sure nothing objectionable is being taught.
Political hot topics for the U.S. are completely open season and people will probably ask you about them.

Keep everything: Keep ANY and ALL receipts and paperwork. What may seem an insignificant receipt could actually be the one thing you need to complete some long, bureaucratic mess in the future.
Since nothing is recorded for you in computers, everything is dependent on receipts and paperwork. Without them, you may lose deposits, be incredibly inconvenienced, or stuck in a "without form A you can't get form B, without form B you can't get form A" kind of a situation.

Electricity Cards: It is common in Chinese dorms for electricity to be handled through a card. You charge the card with however much electricity you want to buy (possibly through the door man: person who guards the front door) and you must recharge it before your electricity unexpectedly turns off (which unfortunately usually occurs after the door man is already asleep; buying a battery-charged lamp is handy.)
Curfew: Chinese dorms padlock the doors at a certain time at night and may lock certain campus gates as well. The door man may sleep inside the padlocked door. Be sure you have a way back in or a place to stay if you are going out or arriving late.
Shower: Chinese showers only hold a certain amount of water which must be heated before you intend to shower. Smaller water tanks will not hold enough for a long shower so be aware of this. If there aren't individual shower tanks and rather hot water is used by the entire building, there may only be hot water at certain times of the day.
Prepare: It is common in China, regardless of where you live, for water or electricity to be unceremoniously turned off for construction without notice. It is best to prepare for this (especially if you keep different hours than a typical Chinese person) by having a battery-charged lamp and a plastic washing bin to pour bottled water into if you need to wash your face, for example. Remember, if the electricity is turned off, you cannot heat your shower.
Heating: On the mainland, heating is turned on in November by the government. There is no heat before the date.
Cooling: There will likely be electric air conditioners available in the room to turn on.
Chinese student dorms: often very small and have bunk beds for many students in one room. There usually isn't a shower in the room and students must use a communal shower detached from the building. Hot water is also purchased and retrieved by students from a separate place to carry back.
Dorms for foreigners: usually have two separate beds in one room with a tv and combination bathroom and shower.
Washers: Dorms for international students will probably have washers but no dryers, or maybe one dryer that costs more money. You most likely will be hanging up your clothes to dry on a clothesline in your room.

Purchasing: The easiest way to purchase a phone to use (especially for a short amount of time) is to go to a supermarket and find the level with electronics. You will need a phone.
You will also need to get a SIM phone number card when you buy the phone (usually you can choose from the phone numbers available- Chinese people like to choose auspicious numbers for their phone numbers and avoid bad numbers) and this small SIM card fits inside your phone and can be put into new phones later to use.
Some phones cannot make international calls and there are different charges for making calls/roaming when in other provinces. It's best to investigate this if you intend to travel and use your phone a lot.
Calls: In order to make calls on your phone, you must buy a phone card (different than a SIM card) for a certain amount of money, however much you perceive you will use, to charge your phone. This is similar to buying minutes.
You follow the directions on the phone card to load the money into your phone. The card is not put inside the phone like a SIM card; you have to call a number on the card itself. If the person who sold you the card is very nice, you may let them help you do it if you don't understand at first.
These cards can be purchased from kiosks on the street.
Make sure to load the money onto your phone at the kiosk and that the card hasn't been used previously. There should be a scratch-off code to use.
The amount of money for calls left on your phone can be checked from time to time (usually by calling a number and receiving a text with the remaining amount) so you don't suddenly run out, cannot make a phone call, and have to run out to buy a card.
If you wish to make free calls to family and friends in China or internationally, downloading the app WeChat is useful. If family and friends also create a WeChat account and "friend" you, you may call them at no charge wherever there is a Wi-Fi connection.

Residency permit: After you arrive in China (within the next couple days or so), you need to go to the local Public Security Bureau (公安局) to get your residency permit. Usually when you are studying abroad, the international office you enroll with at the university will assist you and either give you directions or take a group of students to get their permits together.
Anytime you move in China you must get a new residency permit.

Toilet paper: Carry toilet paper with you at all times, there is no public toilet paper.
Soap: Sometimes soap is also not available in public bathrooms, so carrying hand sanitizer or portable soap may be helpful.
Toilets: Squatter toilets are used in China instead of Western toilets. These can sometimes get very dirty. You'll be happy there aren't Western toilets in many places so you don't have to touch anything.
In some public bathrooms there may not be doors or high dividers between toilets so abandoning the need for privacy when going to the bathroom is a must.
There are some Western toilets in malls and more expensive places but a lot of Chinese people regard these toilets as dirty, don't want to sit on the seat, and squat on top of them instead. Because of this, even with Western toilets present, it's probably best to use the squatter toilets instead.

Access: Public transportation is much more developed and accessible in China than in the U.S.
Trains: China has many trains that are convenient, often fast, and much cheaper than flying. Overnight trains have sleeper bunks.
Tickets: Be sure to buy train and plane tickets well in advance if it's during a busy time of year (ex. before the New Year when everyone goes home to visit their family.)
Cards: You purchase a subway card or bus card (depending on what's available) and load money onto the card at certain locations to quickly scan when getting onto a bus or entering a subway station.
Population: Buses and subway trains are much more crowded and with the large population comes competition.
It is common in China for people to cut in line, push you, or push ahead of you to get onto the subway or bus and into the few empty seats.
Seats: Be aware of who is around you. Seats are given up to the elderly, small children, those with disabilities, and pregnant women.
Traffic: It's very difficult to move around large cities such as Beijing and it's common around rush hour to not be able to physically get onto the subway train (people will pack in as tightly as possible- same with buses) and so you have to wait for the next one.
You may have to wait outside the subway station in a very long line in crowded areas.
It's best to allow a certain amount of time to get somewhere else considering these problems.
Cabs: Taking cabs is very convenient, fast, and inexpensive in smaller cities but in large cities like Beijing it can take hours to get somewhere else by car and gets very expensive. It's best to use the subway there unless it's at night.
To call a cab, you stick your arm out with your palm facing down and fingers curled slightly. Chinese people gesture for people to come over with their palms down, not up.
During the day, a meter will be used to determine the price. If a meter is not being used during the day, the person may be doing it intentionally to rip you off or it could be a fake cab. It's best not to take fake cabs (called "black cars" in China) for safety reasons.
At night, because there are less people around, cab drivers often turn off their meters and you have to bargain for the price to the location. This is normal and the person isn't necessarily trying to rip you off by doing so, although they will name a crazy high price first- never accept that. It's best to ask a local Chinese person how much should be charged from point A to point B at night beforehand.
Sometimes cab drivers will ask you where you are going before you get in and if that place isn't convenient for them, they may just drive away.
A cab driver may be off duty and just drive past as well.
Public Bikes: Recently bike sharing systems have become popular in China, where you can unlock a bike with your smartphone and travel anywhere you need to go.

Bad traffic: Large cities in China often have such bad traffic that you wait hours to get through.
Traffic laws: Chinese traffic laws are suggestive. People do not follow them.
It is much more disorderly compared to the U.S. but at times can be more efficient (such as being able to U-turn wherever you need to and get through lights faster at night by turning right on red, U-turning, and turning right on red again.)
People often park on sidewalks and directly behind other cars in parking lots.
Crossing the road: Cars have the right-of-way in China, not pedestrians. People cross the road at any time and place (much like the game Frogger.)
Do NOT think a car will stop like cars do in the U.S. just because you are crossing the street. If you are noticeably not Chinese, people will probably notice you from far away but it is not uncommon for people to be hit by cars and buses in China.
It is even more dangerous to be hit by a car in China because, with the laws the way they are in China, drivers often make sure the person is dead if they are seriously injured to avoid having to pay the family an enormous amount of money.
Politics: When important people involved in politics are driving through an intersection, all cars must stop and let them pass first. This same treatment is not given to ambulances.
Roads may be blocked for political reasons such as an event going on.

Servers: Can (and sometimes must) yell for server to come over. A simple "服务员" is all you need to say.
Tipping: No tipping.
Animals: If you're eating seafood, for example, you may pick out animals (alive) to be cooked for the meal. Keep in mind that the price is probably based on the total kilograms (of a whole fish) so letting a Chinese friend judge the size is probably best if you're not sure.
Fish dishes will include the entire fish (head and tail included.)
The saying that "Chinese people eat everything with four legs except the table" is not just a joke.
Unique cuisine eaten in China includes chicken feet, stinky tofu, and thousand-year-old eggs.
Meat is often chopped up and prepared with the bones still inside at Chinese restaurants. Watch out for small, sharp bones in fish.

Hospital visits: a communal experience. To see a doctor, you go to the hospital.
It's not a private doctor's visit, nor do you need a prior appointment.
You might have to wait in line for a long time and people waiting for their turn will come into the room while you're meeting with the doctor.
Doctor's visits are fairly brief and inexpensive.
Medications: You do not go to a separate pharmacy after visiting a doctor to fill prescriptions- you take your prescription to the pharmacy inside the hospital.
Many medications that require prescriptions in the U.S. can be purchased over the counter at individual pharmacies around town.

Bargaining: Any price outside a mall can (and should!) be talked down. Sellers name a crazy high starting price first, not a set price.
Purchasing: In the produce section of grocery stores, you go to the nearest scale with a person to weigh the item (applies to rice that can be scooped into bags, vegetables, eggs, etc). Inside malls, you purchase items in the certain section they are in.
For example, there will be a cashier counter for purchasing electronics. This is not necessarily (and probably won't be) the counter in the electronics section. Typically the person working in the electronics section will give you a piece of paper with the information for the item on it, you go to the cashier to pay for it, pay and get the ticket stamped, and come back to the electronics section to pick up the item.
Grocery bags: are not free. They are inexpensive but still cost money. You tell the cashier how many bags you'd like to buy when checking out.

Drinking: Drinking is not regulated like in the U.S.
You may buy and drink alcohol regardless of your age.
You may also drink in public (ex. on the beach while barbecuing with friends.)
Smoking: You may buy cigarettes at any age and can smoke indoors in most places.
Men often give each other cigarettes while eating together as a kind of closeness/friendliness and bond-building.