Module 6 - Chinese Socio-cultural Information

Current picture of Chinese visitors in the European scene General facts about China Relevant Aspects of the Profile of Chinese Guests Chinese mentality Language Religion and beliefs Social status Habits Tipping Body language and non-verbal communication Chinese names Chinese Outbound Market vs. Others Conclusion References Chinese Key words and Phrases
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  • Country’s name in national language: Zhōngguó (literal meaning: Middle or Central State).
  • Location: located in East Asia. Extends five geographical time zones. However, officialy all of China observes the same time zone, which is UTC+8. It is internationally called China Standard Time (CST). China borders fourteen countries by land and faces three countries across Yellow Sea and South China Sea.
  • Area: with its approximately 9,600,000 km2 China is the biggest country in Asia, the third biggest country in the world and the second-largest country in the world by land area after Russia, encompassing 1/14-th of Earth’s territory.
  • Administrative units: 23 provinces (including Taiwan), 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, 2 special administrative regions.
  • Population: over 1. 4118 billion in 2022. It’s the world’s 1th most populous country. China’s population consists of 56 ethnic groups. The largest one is the Han people.
  • Capital: Beijing– country’s political centre. The most populous city and financial centre is Shanghai. Other large cities with economic and cultural influence are Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Tianjin, Xi’an.
  • Economy: 2nd largest in the world by GDP.
  • Main holidays & celebrations:
  • 31 of December to 2nd of January – New Year’s vacation
  • between 21st January and 20th February – Spring festival, a.k.a. Chunjie or Chinese New Year. It is China’s biggest and most important festival.
  • either on 4th or 5th of April – Qingming Festival (Chinese people have a 3-day holiday)
  • 1st of May – Labor Day (Chinese people have a 5-day holiday in Labor Day. This is one of the peak time for travel during the year.)
  • the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar (in late May or June)– Dragon Boat Festival (Chinese people have a 3-day holiday)
  • the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar – Mid-Autumn Festival
  • 1st of October – China National Day (Chinese people have a week off in early October each year for the China National Day. This is also a peak period for tourism.)