Personal hygiene in China

This is actually a common topic among all travelers, this also goes for any travelers going to any other countries.

• Do not drink water from tap, drink bottled water only
• Avoid exotic food, especially when you are new to the local time zone
• Do not eat at food stands, eat at reputable places
• DO NOT USE HAND TOWEL GIVEN AT RESTAURANTS- An absolute no no in China.
• Wash your hands frequently
• Plan your bathroom trips, do not drink too much water if you know you are in for a long trip
• Wash eating ware before you eat at each restaurants, for China, it includes,
• chopstick
• Spoons
• Bowl
• Plate
  
• Glass/Tea Cup
• Never let the part of your silverware touch the food table, e.g. folk never leave it touching the table, place it on top of your plate. For chopstick users, NEVER let it touch the table, put it on top of your plate or bowl.
  
• Chinese culture shares each dish of food, and each person will dig into the dish with their own chopstick. Ask for a pair of "gon fai", which is a pair of sharing chopstick used to take food to your plate. Avoid other's saliva.
• If chopstick packet are not plastic sealed, be prepared to rinse it again. They might be recycled chopstick.
  

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Credit Cards in HK/China

Seems like banks in HK requires permanent residency to get credit cards. Out of all the internation banks in HK, only HSBC can successfully issue a new credit card to non HK residence working in HK with 3 months salary proof and proof of address. American Express is also a choice. And make sure you don't leave too much balance on your account, interest rates can kill.


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HOW-TO catch a Taxi Cab in Shanghai

For any countries, it seems like it's a simple thing to catch a taxi cab. But in Shanghai it is really not that easy. One of the main difficulty is there's no order. There's no line, no form of queue and no courtesy even if you've been waiting for a long time in front of others. So to a catch a cab, you must,

• Find a cab
• If there are current customers, rush to the door to wait for the riding to come out
• If there are others who tries to push in before you, pull them out physically
• If that person happens to be a chinese women who shouts "ladies' First!", then tell her " You are obviously not a lady"
• Go on happily to where you want to go in the cab

Matters are worse during rush hours or popular places.

The reason I want to write this is because I see people (foreginers, including myself) who stands in the taxi stand expecting people will obey the queue system. However that's not how the Chinese system works. I don't want to see all the foreigners waiting in line and all the Chinese taking all the cab. You have to play by the local rules.

Business Practice and all you need to know to do Business in China

Welcome Everyone. This is a new blog for people who are looking for information on doing business in China.

With the introduction of the WTO and all that good stuff, everyone is trying to figure out a way to capitalize the uprise of the China nation. This page serves as a purpose for those who are/will be traveling to China and could use a little advice in terms of all the different things in life. I myself is Chinese, I was born in Hong Kong, and spent most of my life trying to learn things the western way. I too need to know how to survive in China.