China’s culture is one of the richest, oldest and most unique in the world. I loved China and definitely plan on going back and doing some more traveling in a few years. However, China is very different from any place I have ever been. Below I have listed the things I found the most surprising.
Internet Issues
China’s “Great Firewall,” blocks most foreign sites including Facebook, Youtube and all google sites. All Creighton University sites and our Creighton mail were blocked too. There are ways around it, but you have to purchase a VPN, which can be a tricky process.
Water
You cannot drink the water in China due to bacteria and heavy metals. Therefore, it is rare to be given free water in restaurants or bars. In China we always carried a bottle of water around with us, I was never sure if the drinking fountains had drinkable water. I was thirsty the entire time I was in China, when I got to Japan and a restaurant gave us free water or had a water pitcher you could serve yourself from I was extremely grateful. I will never take free drinkable water for granted ever again. Also, people in China do not drink room temperature water and never drink cold water. Drinking warm and hot water is considered good for your health from Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Food
The only food that was similar to any Chinese food I had in the U.S. was white rice. Also, most Chinese food is served family style with a lazy Susan in the middle of the table. I really liked this because I got to experience many different types of food every time we went out to a restaurant. In American we basically only eat chicken breasts, wings, and thighs, however, Chinese people eat every part of the animal including the liver, heart, and feet.
Squat Toilets
In Chinese culture people often have a western toilet in their homes but use squat toilets in public. They think using a public toilet is disgusting. Even in nice malls and restaurants it was rare to find a toilet. I managed to do okay with squat toilets, but it was very difficult at first. I definitely need to do some stretching to become better at squatting… I found most of the squat toilets to be clean, however, toilet paper, paper towels and soap are not provided anywhere. Not even in the hospital we worked in. Diana and I carried many things around with us everywhere: water bottle, hand sanitizer and a roll of toilet paper at all times made our lives easier.
Cars have the right of way
This is pretty self-explanatory, but you can’t even think about j walking. Crossing the street in China was slightly terrifying. Diana and I would usually cross the street at the same time as a local person to be safe. You always need to be aware of your surroundings so that you don’t get hit by a motorcycle or a battery-powered scooter. They are everywhere! Even on the sidewalk and in cross walks when you have the walk sign or they are beeping and going full speed through crowds of thousands of people.
Cash is King
Cash is the preferred method of payment, it was very unusual for places to accept foreign credit cards or credit cards at all.
Personal Space and Privacy
Personal space and privacy seem to not exist in China due the large population within the country. You will encounter crowd sizes that you would never expect. Pushing and shoving is routine no matter where you are trying to go. However, no one takes it personally. No one apologizes or even minds if you shove your way past them. If you don’t use your elbows to push past people you honestly will not get anywhere. This was hard for me at first, but I got good at it quickly out of necessity.
Lining Up
Orderly lines, especially of more than a few people do not exist in China. As a foreigner, people will blatantly step in front of you, cut line, or push past you to the counter as if you aren’t even there. And often you will see people crowding at the service window at the bus station or a line with people cutting in line. Chinese people have a mentality that they need to be first in line to get what they need due to past experiences. The ‘me first’ mentality is alive in well in China.
Time
Everything in China took more time than we anticipated. You want to check out of your hotel? Okay, 1 hour. You want to go to the bank? Okay, 2 hours. You want a check at a restaurant? Okay, 30 minutes. You get the idea, we had to find patience and get over our expectation that things were going to be efficient and timely. Our daily motto was, “Nothing in China is easy so stop expecting it to be.”
No Health Information Privacy
From my time observing in Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine hospitals I do not believe that there is a concept of Protected Health Information (HPI). Patients give their health history and have evaluations and treatments in open spaces with dozens of other people around. Often patients and their families took photos and videos in the hospitals of their family members as well as other patients and no one minded.
Close Family Connections
Chinese people have very strong family bonds. Everywhere I looked I saw grandparents taking care of their grandchildren. From talking to people I learned that grandparents in China love to enjoy their lives by helping raise and teach the next generation of children about the history of their family and culture. Also, in the hospitals it was common to see 2-3 family members accompany a patient to therapy every day. There are no waiting rooms, the family members stay and participate in almost all of the sessions. When patients are in the hospital family members will stay 24 hours per day and are in charge of bringing them food and supplies such as shampoo. In the hospital there is a kitchen for family members to make and store food. Family members are a very important part of rehabilitation and healthcare in China.
Train Etiquette
This goes along with personal space, but people will literally squeeze in until there is physically no space anymore. To the point where you have to push and shove your way out of the train car or you will miss your stop. I lost Diana on the train once because there were so many people we got pushed apart and could not see each other even though we were both in the same relatively small train car. Luckily we had a rendezvous point in the station. Also, people do not wait for you to get off the train you have to shove past all the people trying to get on the train when you are trying to get off. It was crazy.
Smoke
Smoking is extremely common in China, people can and will smoke EVERYWHERE. In stores, restaurants, trains, and even in the hospital.
Language
The majority of Chinese people do not speak ANY English, most places do not even have prices in numbers, only Chinese characters. There is a wonderful Chinese dictionary app, Pleco, that I used almost every day. As well as many apps that will take a picture and translate from Chinese to English which is helpful for reading labels and menus.
One thing that takes getting used to is the volume and tone of conversation: most people speak louder in Chinese and may sound angry even though they are not. Therefore, I could never tell if people were having normal conversations or arguments… Also, the Chinese language is extremely complex. People don’t generally speak in a monotone, however, if someone was to speak in a flat monotone voice in English we could understand them. This is not true in Mandarin, pitch is as important as consonants and vowels for distinguishing one word from another. Mandarin Chinese has four tones. For example the word ma. If you say it the way an English-speaker would say it, just reading it sitting by itself on a page, then it means “scold.” If you say ma as if you were looking for your mother—ma?—it means “rough.” If you were just whining at her—“ma-a-a?!?”—with your voice swooping down a bit and then back up even higher, that would mean, “horse.” And if you say ma on a high pitch, as if you were singing the first syllable of “The Star-Spangled Banner” as ma instead of “oh” for some reason, that would actually mean mother. That’s the way almost every syllable works in Chinese. (examples paraphrased from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/11/tonal-languages-linguistics-mandarin/415701/)
Doors Always Open
In the doorways to malls, hospitals, stores etc. the doors were kept open and these heavy curtains were in the doorways. This meant that there was always a breeze and it was always cold inside. I’m still not sure exactly why they do that, I’m assuming something to do with fresh air.
— Bridget
Adventures & ADLs Abroad 