Chinese get drunk easily
True or false?
True. Most Chinese canāt really drink a lot without getting drunk, BUT they still like to go out! So if you are (male and) going out with Chinese for dinner, they will make you drink a lot for sure! It is not very polite to refuse a drink offered by your host and Chinese love to ganbei (å¹²ęÆ ā dry cup). But of course you can say that you already had too much, just blame your poor foreign stomach. š
For women it is not that bad. Chinese girls normally donāt like to drink, because they get drunk so fast and itās not āappropriateā for them to be or get drunk.
KTV: Chinese love it!
True or false?
True. Not everybody likes karaoke singing though and going out for KTV is a serious thing in China. And it is also not true that Chinese only worship this Japanese invention and donāt do anything else in the evening. There are quite a lot of bars and clubs in Chinese towns (at least in the bigger ones) and especially young people like to go out for a drink and dance.
Chinese food: The real deal is disgusting
True or false?
False! Chinese food is amazing! There is some stuff you will not be used to eat and if you are not vegetarian like me, you will be surprised to find out that Chinese donāt value meat without bone in it, but in general the Chinese food is a lot better than the āChinese foodā you get in Europe. I also talked to a lot of people who were afraid of using chopsticks. Donāt worry, first: Itās easier than you might think, second: you can get spoons in most restaurants and third: Chinese will be happy to teach you! š
by Hanna
Come to China to see if your prejudices about Chinese are true or false! Send an email to info@internchina.com or apply through our website www.internchina.com
1) The Chinese are all poor and everything here is really cheap.
True or false?
Unfortunately not everything here is as cheap as it once was, due to the fact that the Chinese are no longer as poor as they may once have been. The economy has boomed in recent years and with it the creation of a middle-class who can be very wealthy! There are whole shopping centers full of Gucci, Dior, Ralph Lauren etc, with frighteningly high prices. You also see a fair few Ferrariās floating around. Based on the population, China still has a large proportion of people working in agriculture and living below the poverty line. You can probably bag yourself a bargain if you get yourself to a remote village; Iāve heard of whole meals costing under 20p! Even in the cities, daily life is still very cheap compared to living in London; a pint rarely costs more than 50p.
2) The Chinese created table tennis and they are all really good at it.
True or false?
Table tennis was actually created in Britain in the 1880ās, initially played by the wealthy as an after-dinner game. It had various nicknames, such as wiff-waff and ping pong because of the sound made whilst playing. The Chinese are however really good at it, taking 6 of the 8 possible medals at London 2012 Olympics. In China, lots of people do play. It doesnāt take as much space as tennis or other sports so fits in as a suitable sport in Chinaās busy environment.
3) People go everywhere on bicycles.
True of false?
Much to my dismay this is no longer the case in every Chinese city. In Qingdao, there are no cycle lanes so cycling is not to be advised (it is very dangerous!). I think bikes still play a large part of life in some cities, but Qingdao is not one of them. Qingdao however, more than makes up for the lack of bicycles with cars and traffic.
4) The Chinese love foreigners.
True or False?
Thanks to our comparitively tall frames and our range of eye and hair colours, the Brits generally get quite a good reception in China. When you say you are British, the days of the Opium Wars seem to be largely forgotten, we are now just seen as āBritish Gentlemenā (č±å½ē»
士).The Chinese love seeing foreigners around and find our features fascinating ā the big nose, wide eyes, pale skin: everything they want. If you try and speak any Chinese, even a little āNihaoā will have them falling over their feet complementing you. Make the most of the feeling while you are here because it isnāt the same back in Britain!
Have a look at your own stereotypes and come to China to prove them false, e.g. with a homestay in a Chinese family?! Send and email to info@internchina.com or have a look at our website!
by James
Iām Antoine, the new French intern in Qingdao and I arrived last week. Thatās my first time in China and so far, my impressions are very good. Itās really cold right now in Qingdao but people are really warm and welcoming.
I have a lot of various and interesting tasks here like assisting Philippe with the French Universities and internship inquiries. The work atmosphere is really positive at the office and I think I will have a good time being an intern at InternChina.
See you in Qingdao!
Antoine
