About China Rules 101

The guides answer the questions people actually search for: Can I give a clock as a gift? Where should I sit at a Chinese dinner? How much goes in a wedding red envelope? What should I bring when I meet my partner's parents? Every guide gives you a direct answer first, then the dos and don'ts, the cultural reason behind the rule, and safer alternatives.

Who is behind China Rules 101

China Rules 101 is written and run by Tim Fang, a native Chinese speaker who grew up with these customs.

The idea behind the site is simple. Chinese people have written an enormous amount about their own etiquette — what to bring on a home visit, how much to put in a red envelope, how to behave at a banquet, which gifts to avoid and why. But almost all of it is in Chinese: advice passed down in families, explained in Chinese etiquette guides, and debated on Chinese websites and social media. Very little of it reaches the foreigners who need it most.

I collect and organise this Chinese-language material and turn it into clear, practical English guides — because I believe it can be useful to far more people than the Chinese-speaking readers it was originally written for.

Why Chinese-language sources matter

Most English-language guides to Chinese etiquette are written from the outside. They are assembled from other English articles, so they tend to repeat the same stereotypes without telling you which rules still apply today. Starting from what Chinese people write for each other makes a difference:

• The language behind the rule. Many Chinese taboos are wordplay. Giving a clock (送钟, sòng zhōng) sounds like attending someone's deathbed (送终); splitting a pear (分梨, fēn lí) sounds like separation (分离). Knowing why a rule exists is what lets you handle situations no guide covers.
• The questions Chinese people actually ask. Chinese sources deal with the rules people worry about today — WeChat red packets, wedding gift money, workplace dinners, meeting a partner's family — not just the famous taboos foreign guides repeat.
• Real taboos vs. old traditions. Many rules on this site carry a risk level, so you know what truly matters now — not just what mattered to your host's grandparents.
• China is not one place. Customs differ between north and south, cities and villages, older and younger generations. Where Chinese sources disagree, I tell you.

How I keep it practical

I do not romanticise Chinese culture, and I do not over-dramatise it. Most foreigners are forgiven for small mistakes — Chinese hosts know you are a guest. The goal is narrower and more useful: to show you the handful of things that genuinely matter when you give a gift, sit down at a banquet, meet a family or attend a celebration, and to save you from worrying about the rest. You will not find sentences like "Chinese people always…" here, because they are almost never true.

How AI is used

To be open about it: AI helps with translation, organising material and first drafts, and it powers the interactive tools. It does not decide what is true. Chinese etiquette is full of nuance that a literal translation loses, so guides are checked against the original Chinese material, and anything found to be wrong or outdated gets corrected. The details are in the editorial policy.

What you will find here

• Guides to gift-giving, dining and everyday etiquette, business culture, social life, festivals and holidays and customs.
• Interactive tools that check your specific situation — a gift, a red-envelope amount, a message you are not sure how to read.
• In-depth VIP guides for readers who work with Chinese partners and want the unwritten rules behind relationships, face and negotiation. There are no ads and no sponsored content; VIP is how the site pays for itself.

Contact

Spotted a rule that is wrong, outdated or different where you live? Have a situation the guides do not cover? Email [email protected]. I read every message, and reader corrections are one of the ways these guides get better.