Culture & Etiquette
China culture and etiquette: tipping, table manners, gift giving, temple visits and everyday dos and don’ts for travelers.
Culture & Etiquette4 min read2026-10-18Getting Sick in China: Pharmacies, Seeing a Doctor, Emergency Care, and Travel InsurancePharmacies are on every street corner in China and over-the-counter medicines are cheap and easy to buy; for serious illness, go to the international department of a top-tier hospital or a foreign-owned hospital — the English is smooth but the bills are not small, so buying the right insurance before departure is the key step. The 120 emergency number, 24-hour pharmacies, and a standby-medicine checklist, arranged from mild to severe.
Culture & Etiquette3 min read2026-10-18Eat, Drink, and Play Like a Local: A Guide to Dianping, Meituan, and XiaohongshuFor restaurants, go by Dianping's ratings and Must-Eat List; for savings, use Meituan's group-buy vouchers; for travel tips and photo spots, turn to Xiaohongshu (RedNote) — China's local-life apps hold data far deeper than Yelp and TripAdvisor, and the only barrier is registration.
Culture & Etiquette4 min read2026-10-18How to Order Food in China: QR-Code Ordering, Menu Translation, and Table MannersAfter you sit down, the QR code on the corner of the table is the menu — all in Chinese, and some places even make you follow an official account first. QR-code ordering is a small hurdle for diners who don't read Chinese. The four ways to order, the fine print of QR ordering, how to keep the spice in check, and what that "fapiao" question at checkout means.
Culture & Etiquette5 min read2026-10-18Avoiding the Crowds: China's Golden Weeks & Public Holiday GuideSpring Festival and National Day are China's two nationwide travel peaks — train tickets vanish the moment sales open, top attractions cap entry by reservation, and hotel prices climb noticeably. The holiday schedule is pieced together through makeup workdays, and the year's dates can be estimated in advance from lunar-calendar anchors; grabbing tickets means hitting the 15-day presale window exactly, backed by waitlist and off-peak strategies.
Culture & Etiquette3 min read2026-10-18Getting Around China Without Chinese: Translation Apps & Language SurvivalThe first fact to remember: Google Translate is blocked in China. Workable alternative apps, four key phrases, and a set of number gestures make up a traveler's language survival kit.