Special Sub-Topic: Living in China Authored by: daaardvark Sub-topic of: Asian Cultures

In China there are many different kinds of people. How many "nationalities"/"minorities" are there officially in China ?

56. There are 56 nationalities in China. The Han is the largest group. 25 of the 56 groups are native to Yunnan.

There are lots of dialects of Chinese spoken; however Mandarin (putonghua) is spoken by 70% of people and is the official language in China. How do you say good morning in Mandarin (putonghua)?

zao shang hao. "zao shang hao" means good morning, "ni hao" hello, "wan shang hao" good night and "zai jian" means goodbye.

When you greet a Chinese person they will often say "ni chi le ma." What does this mean ?

Did you eat yet ?. "ni chi le ma?" means "did you eat yet?" It is considered a friendly and polite way to greet someone.

There are several festivals during the Lunar calendar that are celebrated by Chinese people. One of these festivals involves the giving/receiving and eating of moon cakes (yue bing). At which festival would you eat moon cakes ?

Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cakes are eaten during the Mid-Autumn festival. They are round like the moon and can have countless fillings inside.

Any Chinese couple (man and woman) stay in a hotel room together. True or False?

f. If a man and a woman wish to stay in a hotel room together, they have to be married. After marriage couples are given a marriage certificate by the government and they must provide the hotel with a copy of this certificate when they check in if they wish to share the same room.

Breakfast is cheap and delicious all over China. There are many small stores that sell breakfast foods that go well together. Which of these combinations is NOT a common breakfast food combination ?

hundun (soup) & doujiang (soy milk). All these foods are common breakfast eats. Chinese normally eat one solid food (youtiao, baozi, bread, etc) with one liquid food (soup, soymilk, yogurt etc).

The main form of long distance travel in China is by train. There are 4 types of tickets available on Chinese trains. Which of these 4 is the most expensive ?

ruanwo. Ruanwo means soft sleeper, it is very comfortable and thus the most expensive. Yingwo (hard sleeper) is also quite comfortable but a little cheaper. Ruanzuo and yingzuo are soft and hard seats, they are quite cheap, and a little more "local", but whilst interesting they are not good for long journeys.

Chinese are very superstitious and often make buildings minus floor numbers because they are unlucky. Which of these numbers is NOT unlucky ?

8. 4 and 14 both sound like the word "death" so are considered unlucky. 13 is borrowed bad luck from other cultures. On the contrary 8 is considered very luck because it will bring prosperity. The 2008 Olympics opening ceremony is planned to start on 8/8/2008 at 8pm no less.

How much is the starting meter price for taxis in China's capital ?

10 RMB. Most cities in China have different taxi systems and pricing. In poorer provinces taxis are very very cheap. Beijing's taxis start at 10RMB for 3km and then increase by 2RMB for each extra km.

Warm coca-cola is a popular Chinese remedy for a cold ?

t. If you have a cold some Chinese suggest to boil some coke and add some ginger then drink it. I have had a cold several times whilst living in China but haven't tried this remedy yet.