Customs, Etiquette & Tipping

Tipping: genuinely not a thing

• China has no tipping culture, with a regulatory basis: a 1987 China National Tourism Administration rule banned soliciting tips, and the Tourism Law and tour-guide regulations still prohibit demanding them. Authorities have said they will not legislate tipping into practice.
• Real cases: a Chengdu restaurant owner chased a customer down the street to return a CNY 20 tip; a Kunming taxi driver refused one; a Sanya tourist who overpaid CNY 15,000 got it all back via police.
• "Abroad, a tip is an obligation; in China, it is a favor." Leaving small change is harmless; staff may still run after you to return it.
• Exception: high-end hotel porters and inbound-tour guides have historically accepted tips — never required.

Culture shocks you will actually meet

• Forced hospitality: hosts put food in your bowl with their chopsticks and urge you to eat more — it means warmth, not intrusion. "Have you eaten?" is a greeting, not an invitation audit.
• Three rounds of refusal: gifts and bills are refused ritualistically before being accepted; the dance is normal. Fighting for the bill is friendship.
• Escorted kindness: ask for directions and someone may walk you there.
• Religious sites: burning incense is folk practice in an officially secular society — photograph freely unless signed otherwise, dress modestly at temples.
• Chopstick taboo: never stick chopsticks upright in rice (it evokes offerings to the dead).

Festival calendar = travel calendar

• Spring Festival (Jan/Feb): the whole country moves — tickets vanish, small shops close for 1-2 weeks, cities empty out. Magical, but plan hard around it.
• National Day week (1-7 Oct): same surge, everywhere crowded.
• Qingming (tombsweeping), Dragon Boat (zongzi), Mid-Autumn (mooncakes) are short breaks — big local crowds at scenic spots.
• Zuo yuezi (postpartum confinement) may surface in homestays — a tradition of rest after childbirth, background knowledge rather than visitor business.