Do - Avoid certain taboo giftsĮvery culture has superstitions around gift-giving, and China is no exception. Still, when in doubt, chocolate and nuts almost always go over well! 4. Nowadays, many Chinese people like to do their shopping on e-commerce websites like Taobao, Jingdong, and Tmall, where it’s possible to buy just about anything, including once difficult-to-find specialties.
CHINESE FAUX PAS PRO
Pro tip: if you run out of gifts from your hometown and you’re going to visit someone in a new city, bring a specialty from the city in which you’re studying abroad-it’s your new hometown after all! These products make attractive souvenirs to bring back from a trip for family, friends, and coworkers. 特产 (tè chǎn), or local specialty products, are popular gifts in China because they can be hard to get outside of the region where they are made, like authentic dragon well tea (龙井茶, lónɡ jǐnɡ chá) from Hangzhou or rose cakes (鲜花饼, xiān huā bǐng) from Yunnan. If you are looking for a gift for your friends and coworkers in China (or your host family or roommate if you’re studying abroad), consider bringing them something representative of your hometown, like blueberry jam from Maine, or chicory coffee from Louisiana. In 2018, a staggering 768,000,000 WeChat users sent a digital red envelope during the Chinese New Year using the app’s mobile payment system.Īs a foreigner, it’s probably wise to steer clear of cash gifts, except at weddings where money is expected. In both cases, the amount of money inside depends on how close you are to the recipient(s), with parents giving the most.ĭigital gifting has exploded in popularity among Chinese social media users, too. Red envelopes are also given to the bride and groom by wedding guests. During the Spring Festival, it’s customary for parents, grandparents, older relatives, and even close neighbors or family friends to hand out red envelopes to children and teenagers. Gifts of cash can feel perfunctory to Westerners, but 红包 (hóngbāo), or red envelopes filled with money, are many Chinese people’s gift of choice for the Spring Festival and weddings. For example, if you’re meeting a study abroad roommate or host family for the first time, bringing along a gift will make a great first impression. Not all gift-giving occasions center around holidays, however. In fact, the practice of using lavish gift boxes of mooncakes to curry favor with bosses and clients got so out-of-hand that, in 2014, the Chinese government had to ban the purchase of mooncakes with public funds. It’s quite normal to bring along a gift for a business partner or client to mark an important meeting or deal. Gift-giving is also much more prevalent in Chinese workplaces than it is in the West. These days, young, urban Chinese consumers are also likely to give gifts on Western holidays like Christmas or Valentine’s Day as well, while their rural peers are more likely to primarily observe traditional Chinese holidays. In China, the major gift-giving occasions are birthdays, the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Read on for 10 dos and don’ts to guide you through the art of Chinese gift-giving.
CHINESE FAUX PAS HOW TO
If you’re the recipient, you also have to know how to accept a gift graciously!īut don’t worry! No matter which end of a gift exchange you find yourself on, we have you covered. There are a whole host of considerations that go into giving the right gift-from the choice of gift to how it is wrapped and presented. In Chinese culture, gift-giving is not only a way of marking special occasions, like holidays and birthdays, but it’s also used to build and maintain relationships with others. Finding the right gift for someone can be rewarding, but it can also be stressful-especially when you don’t know the unspoken rules of the recipient’s culture.
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