Lifestyle - Part 1

Here are some general traits and habits in the Chinese daily lifestyle.

• The Chinese have breakfast at 7am, lunch at 11am, and dinner at 5:30pm. Took us 2 weeks to get used.

• They sleep early, usually 9pm, and at 10pm all the city is asleep. We still don’t do this.

• They always eat together and always share food. They rarely get meals independently.

• Especially after food, they burp freely and with no consideration of people around. They of course mean no disrespect. It might be a social norm.

• When they feel hot (even in public), you see them raise their t-shirt and expose their belly and continue walking normally, as if the belly is the secret of releasing the heat.

• They don’t drink cold water at all, even now in summer when it is really hot. They only drink room temperature or even warm water. They say it makes them expel all toxics from the body.

• Tea is the major daily drink (with no sugar). They drink it even more than water, with meals in restaurants (instead of soft drinks), in office, anytime anywhere.

• In China eating dessert after food, or even going out for dessert, is not common.

• Most interesting so far, the elderly Chinese practice TaiChi exercises in public so often and anywhere and sometimes in huge amounts (like 50 people all together moving consistently in the middle of a street). They really care about their health and fitness.

• Obesity is rare in China.

• When they help, the Chinese do not expect “sorry to bother you” or such. It actually bothers them if they hear it because helping others is a basic valuable moral for the Chinese. Saying thank you or “XieXie” would be the best.

• When they offer help or anything, they like it to be accepted. This is because they do not enforce themselves when offering.

Chinese practicing TaiChi in public. This is so common everywhere and sometimes in large numbers and with music