Proper Protocol & Etiquette

• China is a large country with long history and diverse culture, which is quite different from yours. Though great changes have taken place for the last two decades and China has been modernized dramatically, traditions in most areas are still remained as before. It is highly appreciated that you respect the traditions, culture, local customs and taboos in China, especially if your tour involves areas inhabited by minorities such as Tibet, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, etc. In short, do as Roma does.
• Be flexible with good will and a readiness to understand. Now, China warmly welcomes overseas visitors, the government and the departments concerned are earnestly working hard to improve and increase facilities, enhance the quality of service in all fields, meanwhile, please understand that China is still a developing country, you’ll enjoy your experience most fully if you take a flexible approach, and tolerance and mutual understanding sometimes are quite significant.
• Be friendly and sincere, polite and patient.
  Since China’s opening to the outside world two decades ago, though having become happier, more open-minded, and friendly, Chinese people are inherently shy and modest, do not display emotion and feeling in public and find plain-speaking unnerving. Therefore, generally speaking, 1) when greeting or saying goodbye to each other, the Chinese are other than shaking hands, most of them do not get used to hugging or kissing each other. 2) Decisions that would be made easily and instantly elsewhere would be made in China after long preambles and detailed consultations, which demands your patience and politeness, for anger is seen as weakness. 3) The concept of the 'face' in China: “face” can be loosely defined as the 'status' or 'self-respect' in Chinese and by no means alien to you. It is the worst thing for a Chinese to lose face, so it is advisable that never insult, embarrass, shame, yell at, demean a Chinese person or try to prove someone wrong in public, which would risk putting a Chinese in a situation that he lose his face. In order to get a successful effect without letting a Chinese lose face, it is better that any criticism be delivered privately, discreetly and tactfully, otherwise, the effect would be just opposite to what you wish. 4) many Chinese have an excellent sense of humor, but it usually avoids sexual or political subjects. 5) Whenever you go, especially in the countryside, you may attract attention, some of Chinese may stare at you, some of the domestic tourists you encounter may ask you to take pictures with them, which can be upset but is nothing more than harmless curiosity. Privacy, it must be remembered, is an alien notion to the Chinese. 6) Whenever you want to take pictures of some Chinese people, it is always better to ask for the permission from the very person beforehand.

• Be punctual. For some of your sightseeing and activities in China, punctuality is required, being late may incur the bad consequence of missing boat, train and even airplane, so your personal attention and cooperation will benefit yourself. Especially if you travel with a group, it is wise to be on time so as not to hold up the entire group.
• Social behavior in China is highly ethical, so it is not acceptable that any people take towels, ashtrays and so on from hotels, trains or other places as souvenirs.