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customs
China Festival Calendar: Key Holidays and Public Holidays
When are Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn and National Day? Key holidays for visitors.
customs
Chinese Drinking Culture: Toasts, Ganbei and "Sui Yi"
How to toast at a business dinner - and what does "suíyì" really mean? A no-embarrassment guide.
customs
Chinese Tea Culture: Gaiwan, Gongfu Tea and Table Etiquette
How to brew gongfu tea, and why do people tap the table three times when you pour?
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The 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals: Your Sign and Its Culture
Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig - what does your sign decide?
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Chinese Wedding Customs: From Proposal to Banquet
Bride price, auspicious dates, red packets and tea ceremony - the full flow of a Chinese wedding.
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Chinese Temple Fairs: Spring Festival, Moved onto the Street
Sugar figurines, lion dances and fair food - the liveliest folk carnival of the Spring Festival season.
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Beijing Hutong: Everyday Life in Courtyard Neighbourhoods
Strolling, chess, doorstep carvings and pigeon whistles - reading Beijing through its hutongs.
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Red Packets and Gift-Giving: The Chinese Way of Social Grace
How much in a red packet, how to give gifts, what to mind when visiting - reading Chinese social etiquette.
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Chinese Night Markets: The Fireworks of Everyday Life After Dark
Skewers, stinky tofu, candied hawthorns - night markets are the best window into everyday Chinese life.
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Chinese Hotpot Culture: The Bustling World in a Pot of Red Broth
Yuanyang or nine-grid pot? How to dip, season and chat - the complete way to eat Chinese hotpot.
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Teahouses and Mahjong: The Slow-Life Philosophy of Chengdu
Bamboo chairs, lidded bowls of tea and the clack of mahjong tiles - the ease of Chengdu is unique among Chinese cities.
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Cantonese Morning Tea: One Pot, Two Dim Sum, Good Life
Har gow, siu mai and chicken feet with pu-erh - how Guangdong turned breakfast into a way of life.
