Cultural Analysis of China for Business Development

Country Marketing Plan for China | 10048
SDMIMD
CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Submitted to,
Prof. R. Sukumar
Submitted by,
Srikiran C. Rai
Roll no. 10048
Submission Date: 10/10/2011

Cultural Analysis of China
Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................5
Product Description ..................................................................................................................................5
History of China.............................................................................................................................................5
Geographical Setting.....................................................................................................................................8
Location.....................................................................................................................................................8
Climate......................................................................................................................................................8
Topography...............................................................................................................................................9
Social Institutions........................................................................................................................................10
Family......................................................................................................................................................10
The nuclear family...............................................................................................................................11
The extended family ...........................................................................................................................11
Dynamics of the family .......................................................................................................................11
Female/Male Roles .............................................................................................................................12
Education ................................................................................................................................................12
Role of education in Society................................................................................................................12
Literacy Rates......................................................................................................................................15
Political System.......................................................................................................................................15
Political Structure................................................................................................................................15
Political Parties....................................................................................................................................16
Stability of the government................................................................................................................16
Special Taxes.......................................................................................................................................17
Legal System ...........................................................................................................................................18
Organization of the judiciary system ..................................................................................................19
Defects in the Chinese Law.................................................................................................................20
Participation in patents, trademarks and other conventions.............................................................20
Social Organizations................................................................................................................................21
Group Behavior...................................................................................................................................21
Social Classes.......................................................................................................................................21
Race, ethnicity and subcultures..........................................................................................................22
Business Customs and Practices .............................................................................................................22

Relationships & Communication.........................................................................................................22
Business Meeting Etiquette ................................................................................................................23
Business Negotiation...........................................................................................................................24
What to Wear?....................................................................................................................................24
Business Cards.....................................................................................................................................24
Religion and Aesthetics...............................................................................................................................25
Religion and other belief systems...........................................................................................................25
Orthodox doctrines and structures.....................................................................................................25
Membership of each religion..............................................................................................................25
Aesthetics................................................................................................................................................26
Literature ............................................................................................................................................26
Visual arts............................................................................................................................................27
Martial arts..........................................................................................................................................27
Architecture ........................................................................................................................................28
Fashion................................................................................................................................................29
Music...................................................................................................................................................29
Folklore and other relevant symbols ..................................................................................................30
Living Conditions.....................................................................................................................................31
Cuisine.................................................................................................................................................31
Types of Dishes ...................................................................................................................................31
Malnutrition rates...............................................................................................................................33
Housing ...................................................................................................................................................33
Urban Planning....................................................................................................................................33
Clothing...................................................................................................................................................35
National dress .....................................................................................................................................35
Contemporary Chinese Clothing.........................................................................................................36
Sports and other leisure activities ..........................................................................................................36
Sport....................................................................................................................................................36
Leisure.................................................................................................................................................37
Social welfare in China............................................................................................................................38
Health Care in China ...............................................................................................................................39

Health Indicators.................................................................................................................................39
Healthcare situation post 1990...........................................................................................................39
Language.....................................................................................................................................................41
Official Language.....................................................................................................................................41
Dialects....................................................................................................................................................41
Sources of information ...............................................................................................................................43

Introduction
Product Description
Product: Bottled/Packaged coconut water.
Product USP: It's a delicious alternative to any sports drink with all the benefits that active and health-
conscious people want.
Product Advantages:
1. Coconut water is rich in Vitamins C and B, calcium, iron, copper and potassium
2. Relatively low in calories, natural and packed with important nutrients
3. It’s a natural beverage that needs no additions, not even a sweetener
4. It’s a natural isotonic (assist athletes rehydrate while balancing electrolytes) drink, according to
the United Nations, which has described it as “the fluid of life”, providing many of the same
benefits as formulated sports drinks
Product Specifications:
1. Half-liter or one-liter Tetra-Pak or Bottles
2. Shelf-life of three weeks without refrigeration, 5 weeks with refrigeration
Target Segment:
1. Fitness Fanatics in China
2. Chinese Sportsmen
3. Chinese Urban and Middle class
History of China
The history of China can be broadly classified into six sub-headings

1. Pre-historical China
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest hominids in China date from 250,000 to 2.24
million years ago. The earliest evidence of a fully modern human in China comes from Liujiang
County, Guangxi, where a cranium has been found and dated at approximately 67,000 years
old.
2. Early Dynastic Rule
The Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) is also known as the Iron age of China. The Spring and Autumn
Period (722-476 BC) is famous for the founding of Confucianism and Taoism.
3. Imperial China
The building of the Great Wall of China began in this period with the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC)
and was later augmented and enhanced during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644). The major
contributions of the Qin include the concept of a centralized government, the unification of the
legal code, development of the written language, measurement, and currency of China after the
tribulations of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods.
The subsequent Han Dynasty ruled China between 206 BC and 220 AD, and created a lasting
Han cultural identity among its populace that extends to the present day. The Han Dynasty
expanded the empire's territory considerably with military campaigns reaching Korea, Vietnam,
Mongolia and Central Asia, and also helped establish the Silk Road in Central Asia. China was for
a large part of the last two millennia the world's largest economy. In 1271, the Mongol leader
and fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty, with the last
remnant of the Song Dynasty falling to the Yuan in 1279.
Under the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644), China had another golden age, with one of the
strongest navies in the world, a rich and prosperous economy and a flourishing of the arts and
culture. However, in the later part of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644–1911), China's economic
development began to slow and Europe's rapid development during and after the Industrial
Revolution enabled it to surpass China.
4. Late Dynastic Rule
The Qing Dynasty, which lasted until 1912, was the last dynasty in China. At this time China
awoke to the significance of the rest of the world, the West in particular. As China opened up to
foreign trade and missionary activity, opium produced by British India was forced onto Qing
China. Two Opium Wars with Britain weakened the Emperor's control. The Arrow War (1856–
1860) [2nd Opium War] saw another disastrous defeat for China. The subsequent passing of the
humiliating Treaty of Tianjin in 1856 and the Beijing Conventions of 1860 opened up more of
the country to foreign penetrations and more ports for their vessels. Hong Kong was ceded over
to the British. Thus, the "unequal treaties system" was established. Heavy indemnities had to be
paid by China, and more territory and control were taken over by the foreigners.
5. Republic of China (1912-1949)
Chinese domestic industries developed rapidly in 1911, despite turmoil in Chinese politics.
Development of these industries peaked during World War I, which saw a great increase in
demand for Chinese goods, which benefitted China's industries. In addition, imports to China

fell drastically after total war broke out in Europe. For example, China's textile industry had
482,192 needle machines in 1913, while by 1918 (the end of the war) that number had gone up
to 647,570. The number increased even faster to 1,248,282 by 1921. In addition, bread factories
went up from 57 to 131. Chinese industries continue to develop in the 1930s with the advent of
the Nanking decade in the 1930s, when Chiang Kai-shek unified most of the country and
brought political stability. China's industries developed and grew from 1927 to 1931. Though
badly hit by the Great Depression from 1931 to 1935 and Japan's occupation of Manchuria in
1931, industrial output recovered by 1936. By 1936, industrial output had recovered and
surpassed its previous peak in 1931 prior to the Great Depression's effects on China.
6. Modern China (1949 onwards)
Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in
control of mainland China, and the Kuomintang (KMT) retreating to Taiwan, reducing the ROC
territory to only Taiwan and surrounding islands. On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed
the People's Republic of China.
The economic and social plan known as the Great Leap Forward resulted in an estimated 45
million deaths. In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, which would last
until Mao's death a decade later. The Cultural Revolution led to a major upheaval in Chinese
society.
After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four, blamed for the excesses of the
Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping quickly wrested power from Mao's anointed successor Hua
Guofeng. The Communist Party subsequently loosened governmental control over citizens'
personal lives and the communes were disbanded with many peasants receiving multiple land
leases, which greatly increased incentives and agricultural production. This turn of events
marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly
open market environment, a system termed by some "market socialism", and officially by the
Communist Party of China "Socialism with Chinese characteristics"
The death of pro-reform official Hu Yaobang helped to spark the Tiananmen Square protests of
1989, during which students and others campaigned for several months, speaking out against
corruption and in favour of greater political reform, including democratic rights and freedom of
speech. However, they were eventually put down on 4 June when PLA troops and vehicles
entered and forcibly cleared the square, resulting in numerous casualties. This event was widely
reported and brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the government.[62][63]
The "Tank Man" incident in particular became famous. CPC General Secretary, President Jiang
Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of Shanghai, led the post-Tiananmen PRC in
the 1990s. Under Jiang and Zhu's ten years of administration, the PRC's economic performance
pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross
domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.The country formally joined the World Trade
Organization in 2001.

Geographical Setting
Location
The territory of China lies between latitudes 18° and 54° N, and longitudes 73° and 135° E. The People's
Republic of China is the second-largest country in the world by land area after Russia and is either the
third- or fourth-largest by total area, after Russia, Canada and, depending on the definition of total area,
the United States. China's total area is generally stated as approximately 9,600,000 km2 (3,700,000 sq
mi). China has the longest land borders in the world, and it borders 14 nations, more than any other
country except Russia, which also borders 14. China extends across much of the East Asian continent
bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Burma in Southeast Asia; India, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan in South Asia;
Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia; a small section of Russian Altai and
Mongolia in Inner Asia; and the Russian Far East and North Korea in Northeast Asia. China shares
maritime boundaries with South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and the Phillippines.
Climate
China's climate is mainly dominated by dry seasons and wet monsoons, which lead to a pronounced
temperature differences between winter and summer. In the winter, northern winds coming from high-
altitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from coastal areas at lower altitudes are
warm and moist. The climate in China differs from region to region because of the country's extensive
and complex topography.

Topography
The country's vast size gives it a wide variety of landscapes. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow
Sea and the East China Sea, there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains, while on the edges
of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, broad grasslands are visible. Southern China is dominated
by hill country and low mountain ranges, while the central-east hosts the deltas of China's two major
rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Other major rivers include the Xi, Mekong, Brahmaputra
and Amur. To the west, major mountain ranges, most notably the Himalayas, and high plateaus feature
among the more arid landscapes of the north, such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. China's
highest point, Mt. Everest (8848m), lies on the Sino-Nepalese border. The country's lowest point is the
dried lake bed of Ayding Lake (-154m) in the Turpan Depression. A major environmental issue in China is
the continued expansion of its deserts, particularly the Gobi Desert, which is currently the world's fifth-
largest desert. According to China's environmental watchdog, Sepa, China is losing a million acres (4,000
km²) per year to desertification. Melting glaciers in the Himalayas could potentially lead to water
shortages for hundreds of millions of people.

Social Institutions
Family
Average Household Size: 3.10
Total Households: 401,520,000
Family Households: 340,491,197 (96.9%)
Collective households: 10,742,501 (3.1%)
Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Chinese government introduced, with varying degrees of success, a
number of family planning, or population control, campaigns and programs. China's fast-growing
population was a major policy matter for its leaders in the mid-twentieth century, so that in the early
1970s, the government implemented the stringent one-child policy (publicly announced in 1979). Under
this policy, which had different guidelines for national minorities, married couples were officially
permitted only one child. As a result of the policy, China successfully achieved its goal of a more stable
and much-reduced fertility rate; in 2010 women had an average of 1.54 children versus an estimated 5.4
children in 1971.
Census Population %±
1953 582,603,417 —
1964 694,581,759 19.2%
1982 1,008,175,288 45.1%
1990 1,133,682,501 12.4%
2000 1,265,830,000 11.7%
2010 1,339,724,852 5.8%

China now has an increasingly aging population; it is projected that 11.8% of the population in 2020 will
be 65 years of age and older.
The age structure in China as of 2011 is:
0–14 years: 16.60%
15–64 years: 72.1% (male 495,724,889/female 469,182,087)
The difference between the Chinese family and the Western family is that the average Chinese family is
much bigger than the Western family and the proportion of the families consisting of more than two
generations in China is much higher than in western Society.
The nuclear family
Since the “Great Leap Forward” plan of 1949, industrialization took off and the nuclear family, consisting
of only of parents and their growing children has predominated. Families and children reaching
adulthood are more mobile and tend to relocate to where jobs exist.
The extended family
In pre-industrial era, i.e. 1911-1949, the families were extended families where many generations
remained in the same location for generations.
Dynamics of the family
The teaching of Confucius (551 BCE – 479 BCE) taught of five basic relationships in life:
Father to son
Elder brother to younger brother
Husband to Wife
Friend to Friend
Ruler to structure
Parental Roles
Filiation has been one of the cornerstones of Chinese society and it is still highly valued. It includes not
only respect for older generations but also the responsibility of children to take care of their parents. It
is not only a moral and social obligation, but also mandated by law. Almost 80% of the old parents are
economically dependent on their children. In three generation families, the grandparents may perform
the housework and take care of their grandchildren, or may work in the fields or in the business if they
are still active, whereas middle generation couples usually work outside the home.

Marriage and Courtship
Chinese marriage is a ceremonial ritual within Chinese societies that involve a marriage established by
pre-arrangement between families. Within Chinese culture, romantic love was allowed, and monogamy
was the norm for most ordinary citizens.
Since 1980, the age of marriage has fallen. This is mainly due to administrative decentralization, which
has lessened government control over the age of marriage. Before that the government encouraged and
persuaded unmarried couples to postpone marriages, because raising a child required a significant
portion of the family income. After reaching a peak of 23 odd in 1980, currently the marriage has fallen
to a little below 21 for the women. Religious beliefs in China strongly oppose remarriage, so remarriage
rates are very low.
Marriage rate: 6.3/1,000 population (2006)
Divorce rate: 1.0/1,000 population (2006)
Female/Male Roles
According to the 2010 census, males account for 51.27 percent of China's 1.34 billion people, while
females made up 48.73 percent of the total. Surveys show that a large majority of the women were
living or had lived with their husbands’ parents (60%-81%) and a small proportion of women were living
or had lived with their own parents after marriage (3%-12%)
Education
Role of education in Society
Education in the People's Republic of China is a state-run system of public education run by the Ministry
of Education. All citizens must attend school for at least nine years. The Law on Nine-Year Compulsory
Education, which took effect on July 1, 1986, established requirements and deadlines for attaining
universal education tailored to local conditions and guaranteed school-age children the right to receive
at least nine years of education (six year primary education and three years secondary education). The
government provides primary education for six years, starting at age six or seven, followed by six years

of secondary education for ages 12 to 18. China has had a major expansion in education, increasing the
number of undergraduates and people who hold doctoral degrees fivefold in 10 years. Chinese spending
has grown by 20% per year since 1999, now reaching over $100bn, and as many as 1.5 million science
and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006.
Educational Stages in China
Typical Age Education Levels Compulsory
18-22 University or college Varies No
15-18 Senior high school (middle school)
or
Vocational school
Grades 10-12 No
12-14 Junior middle school Grades 7-9 Yes
6-11 Primary school Grades 1-6 Yes
Preschool Education
Preschool education, which began at age three, was another target of education reform in 1985.
Preschool facilities were to be established in buildings made available by public enterprises, production
teams, municipal authorities, local groups, and families. The government announced that it depended
on individual organizations to sponsor their own preschool education and that preschool education was
to become a part of the welfare services of various government organizations, institutes, and state- and
collectively operated enterprises.
Primary Education
In 1985 about 96 percent of primary school age children were enrolled in approximately 832,300
primary schools. Under the Law on Nine-Year Compulsory Education, primary schools were to be tuition-
free and reasonably located for the convenience of children attending them; students would attend
primary schools in their neighborhoods or villages. Parents paid a small fee per term for books and other
expenses such as transportation, food, and heating. Previously, fees were not considered a deterrent to
attendance. Under the education reform, students from poor families received stipends, and state
enterprises, institutions, and other sectors of society were encouraged to establish their own schools.
The primary-school curriculum consisted of Chinese, mathematics, physical education, music, drawing,
and elementary instruction in nature, history, and geography, combined with practical work experiences
around the school compound. A general knowledge of politics and moral training, which stressed love of
the motherland, love of the party, and love of the people (and previously love of Chairman Mao), was
another part of the curriculum. A foreign language, often English, is introduced in about the third grade.
Chinese and mathematics accounted for about 60 percent of the scheduled class time; natural science
and social science accounted for about 8 percent. Students are always organized into groups so that

they can learn cooperation skills. To encourage responsibility, there are no janitors in Chinese schools.
Rather, it is the student's job to take care of the inside of the schools by cleaning it.
Secondary Education
1. Junior Secondary – Junior secondary education is more commonly known as (junior) middle
school education, it consists the last three years of nine years compulsory education.
2. Senior secondary – Senior secondary education often refers to three years high school (or
called senior middle school) education, as from grade 10 to grade 12. Normally, students who
have finished six years of primary education will continue three more years of academic study
in middle schools as regulated by the Compulsory education law at the age of twelve. This,
however, is not compulsory for senior secondary education, where junior graduates may
choose to continue a three-year academic education in academic high schools, which will
eventually lead to university, or to switch to a vocational course in vocational high schools.
High School Education
Generally, high school years usually have two semesters, starting in September and February. In some
rural areas, operation may subject to agricultural cycles. Number of lessons offered by school on a
weekly basis is very subjective, largely depends on the school's resource. In addition to normal lessons,
periods for private study and extracurricular activity are provided as well. The academic curriculum
consists of Chinese, Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, politics,
Music, Fine Arts, PE, Technology, Computing etc. Some schools may also offer vocational subjects.
Generally speaking, Chinese, Mathematics and English are considered as three main subjects.
In China, a senior high school graduate will be considered as an educated person, although the majority
graduates will go onto universities or vocational colleges. Given the fact that the intensity of the
competition for limited university places is unimaginable, most high schools are evaluated by their
academic performance in “Gao-kao” by parents and students. The National Higher Education Entrance
Examination, or commonly known as “Gao-Kao”, is an academic examination held annually in the
mainland of the People's Republic of China. 'Zhongkao', the Senior Secondary Education Entrance
Examination, is the academic examination held annually in China to distinguish junior graduates.
Higher Education
According to 2003 census data, there are more than 20 million undergraduates and post graduates
studying in approximately 2000 institutions. The gross rate of enrollment in schools of higher learning
reached 19 percent. Postgraduate education is the fastest growing sector, with 24.1 percent more
students recruited and 25.9 percent more researchers than the year before. This enrollment growth
indicates that China has entered the stage of popular education. The UNESCO world higher education
report of June 2003 pointed out that the student population of China's schools of higher learning had
doubled in a very short period of time, and was the world's largest.
Between 1999 and 2003, enrollment in higher education increased from 1.6 million to 3.82 million. In
2004, the total enrollment in ordinary schools of higher learning was 4.473 million, 651,000 more than

in 2003. Schools of higher learning and research institutes enrolled 326,000 postgraduate students,
57,000 more than the previous year. In 2010 China is expecting 6.3 million students to graduate from
College or University, with 63% likely to enter the work force.
Literacy Rates
Total – 95.92% (2010 census)
Men – 95.1% (2000 census)
Women –86.5% (2000 census)
Political System
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding
and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Although nominally it exists alongside
the United Front, in practice, the CPC is the only party of the PRC, maintaining a unitary government
centralizing the state, military, and media. The legal power of the Communist Party is guaranteed by the
PRC constitution. The CPC is the world's largest political party,[11] claiming over 80 million members[12]
at the end of 2010 which constitutes about 6.0% of the total population of mainland China.
Political Structure

Theoretically, the party's highest body is the National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which
meets at least once every five years. The primary organs of power in the Communist Party which is
detailed in the party constitution include:
Central Committee, which includes:
The General Secretary, which is the highest ranking official within the Party and usually
the Chinese paramount leader.
The Politburo, consisting of 24 full members (including the members of the Politburo
Standing Committee) and one alternate; see current members of the Politburo for a
complete list.
The Politburo Standing Committee, which currently consists of nine members; see
current members of the Politburo Standing Committee for a complete list.
The Secretariat, the principal administrative mechanism of the CPC, headed by the
General Secretary of the Central Committee;
The Central Military Commission (a parallel organization of the government institution
of the same name);
The Central Discipline Inspection Commission, which is directly under the National Congress and
on the same level with the Central Committee, charged with rooting out corruption and
malfeasance among party cadres.
Political Parties
China is a single party state. But, political theorists have identified two groupings within the Communist
Party leading to a structure which has been called "one party, two factions". The first is the "elitist
coalition" or Shanghai clique which contains mainly officials who have risen from the more prosperous
provinces. The second is the "populist coalition", the core of which are the tuanpai, or the "Youth
League faction" which consists mainly of officials who have risen from the rural interior, through the
Communist Youth League.
Stability of the government
The CPC has its origins in the May Fourth Movement of 1919, where radical political systems like
anarchism and Communism gained traction among Chinese intellectuals. The CPC's ideologies have
significantly evolved since its founding and establishing political power in 1949. Mao's revolution that
founded the PRC was nominally based on Marxism-Leninism with a rural focus based on China's social
situations at the time. During the 1960s and 1970s, the CPC experienced a significant ideological

breakdown with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union under Nikita Khrushchev, and later, Leonid
Brezhnev. Since then Mao's peasant revolutionary vision and so-called "continued revolution under the
dictatorship of the proletariat" stipulated that class enemies continued to exist even though the socialist
revolution seemed to be complete, giving way to the Cultural Revolution. This fusion of ideas became
known officially as "Mao Zedong Thought", or Maoism outside of China.
Following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, however, the CPC under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping
moved towards Socialism with Chinese characteristics and instituted Chinese economic reform. In
reversing some of Mao's "extreme-leftist" policies, Deng argued that a socialist country and the market
economy model were not mutually exclusive. While asserting the political power of the Party itself, the
change in policy generated significant economic growth.
The "third generation" of leadership under Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, and associates largely continued
Deng's progressive economic vision while overseeing the re-emergence of Chinese nationalism in the
1990s. Nationalist sentiment has seemingly also evolved to become informally the part of the Party's
guiding doctrine. The insistent road of focusing almost exclusively on economic growth has led to a wide
range of serious social problems.
The CPC's "fourth generation" of leadership under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, after taking power in
2003, attempted reversing such a trend by bringing forth an integrated ideology that tackled both social
and economic concerns. This new ideology was known as the creation of a Harmonious Society using the
Scientific Development Concept.
Hu Jintao has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002.
Special Taxes
Customs Duties
1. Duty payers – The payers of Customs Duties include consignees who import goods permitted by
China and consignors who export goods permitted by China
2. Tariff Rates – The tariff rates include import duty rates and export duty rates. The tariff rates for
imports fall into two categories; general tariff rates and preferential tariff rates. The general
tariff rates apply to the imports originating in the countries with which the People's Republic of
China has not concluded most-favoured-nation trade agreements; the preferential tariff rates
apply to imports originating in the countries with which the People's Republic of China has
concluded most-favoured-nation trade agreements. There are 36 tariff numbers for exported
goods subject to Duties with 5 differential rates ranging from 20% to 50%. The preferential tariff
rates vary from 0% , 1 % to 121.6% with over 50 different rates, and the arithmetic average rate
is 16.8%.
3. The following goods may be exempted from Customs Duties upon verification by the Customs:
a. The duty amount to be paid for one consignment of goods below RMB 10 yuan
b. Advertising matter and trade samples of no commercial value
c. Goods gifted by international organizations or foreign governments

d. Fuels, stores and beverages loaded on a means of conveyance entering or leaving the
country for use en route.
4. Raw materials, subsidiary materials parts, accessories, components and packing materials
imported for overseas businesses to process, assemble or produce export-oriented products
shall be exempt from duties on the part of actually processed and exported; or duties are
collected first on the imported materials and parts and then refunded on the basis of the
completed products actually processed and exported.
Business Tax
1. Tax payers – Taxpayers of Business Tax include all enterprises, units, household businesses and
other individuals engaged in provision of taxable services, transfer of intangible assets or in sales
of immovable properties within the territory
2. Tax Rates – The average tax rate is around 4% to 5%
Enterprise Income Tax
1. Taxpayers – state-owned enterprise, collective enterprise, private enterprise, joint operation
enterprise, joint equity enterprise, and other organizations.
2. Tax Base – The taxpayers' worldwide income from production and business operations and from
other sources shall be subject to Enterprise Income Tax according to law.
3. Tax Rates – the amount of Enterprise Income Tax payable is computed on the basis of the
taxable income and by applying the rate of 25%.
a. There are various tax incentives which may reduce the Enterprise Income Tax Rates to
15% and provide tax holiday.
Legal System
For most of the history of China, its legal system has been based on the Confucian philosophy of social
control through moral education, as well as the Legalist emphasis on codified law and criminal sanction.
Following the Revolution of 1911, the Republic of China adopted a largely Western-style legal code in
the civil law tradition (specifically German-influenced). The establishment of the People's Republic of
China in 1949 brought with it a more Soviet-influenced system of socialist law.
The introduction and translation of Western legal texts into Chinese is believed to have been started
under the auspices of Lin Zexu in 1839. Attitudes toward the traditional Chinese legal system changed
markedly in the late-20th century. Most Chinese and Westerners of the early 20th century regarded the
traditional Chinese legal system as backward and barbaric. However, extensive research into China's
traditional legal system has caused attitudes to become more favorable in the late-20th and early 21st
centuries.

Organization of the judiciary system
The Constitution provides that the NPC is the supreme organ of state power over a structure of other
people’s congresses at various levels. The NPC has power to amend the Constitution by a two-thirds
majority, promulgate legislation, elect and remove highest-level officials, determine the budget, and
control economic and social development planning.
The NPC also includes a Standing Committee that functions much as the NPC does when the NPC is not
in session. The NPC sits at the highest level in the hierarchy of governmental structure in the PRC. This
national level is followed in descending order by the provincial level (including autonomous regions and
municipalities directly under the national level), the prefectural level, the county level, and the
townships and towns level.
Government members at the lower two levels are directly elected, and those at the higher levels are
elected by the lower levels. In addition to the NPC, the provincial people’s congresses possess legislative
power and can pass laws so long as they do not contravene the Constitution or higher legislation or
administrative regulations.
The Constitution states its own supremacy. However, it has been theorized that the supremacy of the
Communist Party means that the Constitution and law are not supreme, and that this perspective is the
result of the Marxist view of law as simply a superstructure combined with a lack of recognition of rule
of law in philosophical or historical tradition. Although the Constitution provides for legislative,
executive, judicial, and pro-curatorial powers, they are all still subject to Communist Party leadership.

Defects in the Chinese Law
1. First, the National People’s Congress is ineffective at executing its constitutional duty to legislate
and supervise the government.
2. Second, the Chinese Constitution is not treated as the supreme law, nor is it enforced.
3. Third, the judiciary is not independent from political pressure. On the other hand, direct
intervention in particular cases by the CCP has lessened in recent years, as has the direct
influence of the CCP on the legislative process.
4. Fourth, there is a high level of corruption among public officials. Personal favors, bribery, and
taking of public monies are all too common at all levels of government.
5. Finally, the legal profession is inadequate for lack of qualified attorneys and judges. This failure
is being remedied by legislation aimed at instituting higher educational standards for judges,
opening more courts and law schools throughout China.
Participation in patents, trademarks and other conventions
Domestically, protection of intellectual property law has also been established by government
legislation, administrative regulations, and decrees in the areas of trademark, copyright and patent. This
has led to the creation of a comprehensive legal framework to protect both local and foreign intellectual
property. Despite this, copyright violations are common in the PRC, and intellectual property violations
are committed by prominent members of the automotive and electronics industries.
Trademark Law
The Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China sets out general guidelines on administration of
trademarks, protection of trademark owners' exclusive rights and maintenance of quality of products or
services bearing the registered trademarks, "with a view to protecting consumer interests and to
promoting the development of the socialist commodity economy."
Copyright Law
Copyright law is mainly governed by the Copyright Law of the PRC and the Implementing Rules for the
Copyright Law of the PRC, the Copyright Law of the PRC adopted and promulgated in 1990 and the
"Implementing Rules" adopted in 1991 and revised in 2002. In most cases the copyright term is the life
of the author plus 50 years, but for cinematographic and photographic works and works created by a
company or organization the term is 50 years after first publication.
The Berne Convention does not require copyright registration, and thus protection in the PRC technically
doesn't require registration. However, registering copyrights for literary works can avoid, or at least
simplify, ownership disputes. Copyright registration cost is 300 RMB. On the downside, the copyright
registration process requires the registrant to disclose detailed information, including software source
code, which companies might be reluctant to share.
Patent Law
The PRC passed the Patent Law of the PRC to encourage invention-creation and to promote the
development of science and technology. The subsequent Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law of

the PRC added clarification. Patents must be registered to receive legal protection. This must be done
through an authorized Chinese patent agency, appointed by the State Intellectual Property Office.
Other legislations include the Regulations on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (1995)
and the Law Against Unfair Competition of the PRC (1993). The latter prohibited the passing off of
registered trademarks, infringing trade secrets, the illegal use of well-known goods or names of other
people, as well as other misleading and deceptive conduct. The Advertising Law of the PRC was passed
in 1994 to prohibit the unfair, misleading and deceptive conduct involving patent advertising or other
advertising activities in general.
Social Organizations
In its radical phases, revolutions such as the Great Leap Forward (1958–60) and the Cultural Revolution
(1966–76) aimed at nothing less than the complete transformation of everything from the practice of
medicine, to higher education, to family life.
Group Behavior
In general, the Chinese are a collective society with a need for group affiliation, whether to their family,
school, work group, or country. In order to maintain a sense of harmony, they will act with decorum at
all times and will not do anything to cause someone else public embarrassment. They are willing to
subjugate their own feelings for the good of the group. This is often observed by the use of silence in
very structured meetings. If someone disagrees with what another person says, rather than disagree
publicly, the person will remain quiet. This gives face to the other person, while speaking up would make
both parties lose face.
Since the Chinese strive for harmony and are group dependent, they rely on facial expression, tone of
voice and posture to tell them what someone feels. Frowning while someone is speaking is interpreted
as a sign of disagreement. Therefore, most Chinese maintain an impassive expression when speaking. It
is considered disrespectful to stare into another person's eyes. In crowded situations the Chinese avoid
eye contact to give themselves privacy.
Social Classes
Traditional thought accepted social stratification as natural and considered most social groups to be
organized on hierarchical principles. In the ideal Confucian scheme of social stratification, scholars were
at the highest level of society, followed by farmers, then by artisans, with merchants and soldiers in last
place. In society at large, the highest and most prestigious positions were those of political generalists,
such as members of the emperor's council or provincial governors. Experts such as physicians ranked
below the ruling political generalists. Although commerce has been a major element of Chinese life since
the early imperial period, and wealthy merchants have been major figures in Chinese cities,
Confucianists disparaged merchants. Commercial success never won respect, and wealth based on
commerce was subject to official taxes, fees, and even confiscation. Confucian ideology derogated
military skill. Common soldiers occupied a low position in society and were recruited from its lowest
ranks.

The basic pattern of contemporary society was established by 1960, and all changes since then,
including the reforms of the early and mid-1980s, have represented only modifications and adjustments
to the pattern. The pattern is cellular; most people belong to one large, all-embracing unit, such as a
factory, government office, or village. The unit is run by party branch, operates (or should operate)
under common administrative rules and procedures, and reflects the current policies of the party. The
consequence has been that most aspects of social differentiation, stratification, mobility, and tensions
are now played out within an institutional framework. Most of the questions about any individual's life
and prospects could be answered by specifying the unit—the social cell—with which that individual was
associated.
Race, ethnicity and subcultures
Ethnic Groups
Today there are 56 distinct recognized ethnic groups in China. In terms of numbers however, the pre-
eminent ethnic group is the Han Chinese. Throughout history, many groups have been assimilated into
neighboring ethnicities or disappeared without a trace. At the same time, many within the Han identity
have maintained distinct linguistic and regional cultural traditions. Much of the traditional cultural
identity within the community has to do with distinguishing the family name.
Large ethnic minorities (data according to the 2000 census) include the Zhuang (16 million, 1.28%),
Manchu (10 million, 0.84%), Uyghur (9 million, 0.78%), Hui (9 million, 0.71%), Miao (8 million, 0.71%), Yi
(7 million, 0.61%), Tujia (5.75 million, 0.63%), Mongols (5 million, 0.46%), Tibetan (5 million, 0.43%), Buyi
(3 million, 0.23%), and Korean (2 million, 0.15%).
Regional Subcultures
Traditional Chinese Culture covers large geographical territories, where each region is usually divided
into distinct sub-cultures. Each region is often represented by three ancestral items. For example
Guangdong is represented by chenpi, aged ginger and hay. Others include ancient cities like Lin'an
(Hangzhou), which include tea leaf, bamboo shoot trunk and hickory nut.
Business Customs and Practices
Relationships & Communication
The Chinese don't like doing business with companies they don't know, so working through an
intermediary is crucial. This could be an individual or an organization who can make a formal
introduction and vouch for the reliability of your company.
Before arriving in China send materials (written in Chinese) that describe your company, its
history, and literature about your products and services. The Chinese often use intermediaries
to ask questions that they would prefer not to make directly.
Business relationships are built formally after the Chinese get to know you.
Be very patient. It takes a considerable amount of time and is bound up with enormous
bureaucracy.

The Chinese see foreigners as representatives of their company rather than as individuals.
Rank is extremely important in business relationships and you must keep rank differences in
mind when communicating.
Gender bias is nonexistent in business.
Never lose sight of the fact that communication is official, especially in dealing with someone of
higher rank. Treating them too informally, especially in front of their peers, may well ruin a
potential deal.
The Chinese prefer face-to-face meetings rather than written or telephonic communication.
Meals and social events are not the place for business discussions. There is a demarcation
between business and socializing in China, so try to be careful not to intertwine the two.
Business Meeting Etiquette
Appointments are necessary and, if possible, should be made between one-to-two months in
advance, preferably in writing.
If you do not have a contact within the company, use an intermediary to arrange a formal
introduction. Once the introduction has been made, you should provide the company with
information about your company and what you want to accomplish at the meeting.
You should arrive at meetings on time or slightly early. The Chinese view punctuality as a virtue.
Arriving late is an insult and could negatively affect your relationship
Pay great attention to the agenda as each Chinese participant has his or her own agenda that
they will attempt to introduce.
Send an agenda before the meeting so your Chinese colleagues have the chance to meet with
any technical experts prior to the meeting. Discuss the agenda with your
translator/intermediary prior to submission.
Each participant will take an opportunity to dominate the floor for lengthy periods without
appearing to say very much of anything that actually contributes to the meeting. Be patient and
listen. There could be subtle messages being transmitted that would assist you in allaying fears
of on-going association.
Meetings require patience. Mobile phones ring frequently and conversations tend to be
boisterous. Never ask the Chinese to turn off their mobile phones as this causes you both to lose
face.
Guests are generally escorted to their seats, which are in descending order of rank. Senior
people generally sit opposite senior people from the other side.
It is imperative that you bring your own interpreter, especially if you plan to discuss legal or
extremely technical concepts as you can brief the interpreter prior to the meeting.
Written material should be available in both English and Chinese, using simplified characters. Be
very careful about what is written. Make absolutely certain that written translations are
accurate and cannot be misinterpreted.

Visual aids are useful in large meetings and should only be done with black type on white
background. Colours have special meanings and if you are not careful, your colour choice could
work against you.
Presentations should be detailed and factual and focus on long-term benefits. Be prepared for
the presentation to be a challenge.
Business Negotiation
Only senior members of the negotiating team will speak. Designate the most senior person in
your group as your spokesman for the introductory functions.
Business negotiations occur at a slow pace.
Be prepared for the agenda to become a jumping off point for other discussions.
Chinese are non-confrontational. They will not overtly say 'no', they will say 'they will think
about it' or 'they will see'.
Chinese negotiations are process oriented. They want to determine if relationships can develop
to a stage where both parties are comfortable doing business with the other.
Decisions may take a long time, as they require careful review and consideration.
Under no circumstances should you lose your temper or you will lose face and irrevocably
damage your relationship.
Do not use high-pressure tactics. You might find yourself outmanoeuvred.
Business is hierarchical. Decisions are unlikely to be made during the meetings you attend.
The Chinese are shrewd negotiators.
Your starting price should leave room for negotiation.
What to Wear?
Business attire is conservative and unpretentious.
Men should wear dark coloured, conservative business suits.
Women should wear conservative business suits or dresses with a high neckline.
Women should wear flat shoes or shoes with very low heels.
Bright colours should be avoided.
Business Cards
Business cards are exchanged after the initial introduction.
Have one side of your business card translated into Chinese using simplified Chinese characters
that are printed in gold ink since gold is an auspicious colour.
Your business card should include your title. If your company is the oldest or largest in your
country, that fact should be on your card as well.
Hold the card in both hands when offering it, Chinese side facing the recipient.
Examine a business card before putting it on the table next to you or in a business card case.
Never write on someone's card unless so directed.

Religion and Aesthetics
Religion and other belief systems
Communist governments often suppress religious freedom and officially (often forcibly) endorse
atheism. Due to this the relation between the Government and religions was not smooth in the past. In
recent years, the Chinese government has opened up to religion, especially traditional religions such as
Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Shenism because the Government also continued to emphasize the
role of religion in building a "Harmonious Society," which was a positive development with regard to the
Government's respect for religious freedom.
The Chinese religions are family-oriented and do not demand the exclusive adherence of members.
Some scholars doubt the use of the term "religion" in reference to Buddhism and Taoism, and suggest
"cultural practices" or "thought systems" as more appropriate names. Generally, the percentage of
people who call themselves religious in China has been among the lowest in the world.
Buddhism remains a main popular religion in China since its introduction in the 1st century; the largest
group of religious traditions is however that of Chinese folk religion or "Shenism", a term coined by A.J.
Elliot, which he used to collectively name Chinese folk religions, as the ethnic religion of the Hans, which
encompasses Taoism, and the worship of the shens, a collection of various local ethnic deities, heroes
and ancestors, and figures from Chinese mythology, among which the most popular ones in recent years
have been Mazu (goddess of the seas, patron of Southern China), Huangdi (divine patriarch of all the
Chinese, "Volksgeist" of the Chinese nation), the Black Dragon, Caishen (god of prosperity and richness),
and others. Various new religious movements, both indigenous and exogenous, are scattered across the
country. Confucianism as a religion is popular among intellectuals.
Orthodox doctrines and structures
Confucianism stresses duty, sincerity, loyalty, honour, filial piety, respect for age and seniority. Through
maintaining harmonious relations as individuals, society itself becomes stable.
Membership of each religion
Nowadays Shenism-Taoism and Buddhism are the largest religions in China with respectively
over 30% (of which 160 million, or 11% of the total population of the country, are Mazuists) and
18-20% of the population adhering to them, thriving throughout the country as the government
is allowing them to spread.
Almost 10% of the population is composed of those regarded as non-Han ethnicities who
following their traditional tribal religions.
Christians are 3-4% of the population according to various detailed surveys, although American
press states there might be more due to the house church movement
Muslims are 1-2%.
The remaining section of the population, ranging between 40% and 60%, is mostly agnostic or
non-religious
Purely atheists are 14-15%.

Aesthetics
Literature
Chinese literature began with record keeping and divination on Oracle Bones. The extensive collection of
books that have been preserved since the Zhou Dynasty demonstrate just how advanced the
intellectuals were at one time. Indeed, the era of the Zhou Dynasty is often looked to as the touchstone
of Chinese cultural development. The Five Cardinal Points are the foundation for almost all major
studies. Concepts covered within the Chinese classic texts present a wide range of subjects including
poetry, astrology, astronomy, calendar, constellations and many others. Some of the most important
early texts include I Ching and Shujing within the Four Books and Five Classics. Many Chinese concepts
such as Yin and Yang, Qi, Four Pillars of Destiny in relation to heaven and earth were all theorized in the
dynastic periods.
The Song Dynasty was also a period of great scientific literature, and saw the creation of works such as
Su Song's Xin Yixiang Fayao and Shen Kuo's Dream Pool Essays. There were also enormous works of
historiography and large encyclopedias, such as Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian of 1084 AD or the Four
Great Books of Song fully compiled and edited by the 11th century. Notable confucianists, taoists and
scholars of all classes have made significant contributions to and from documenting history to authoring
saintly concepts that seem hundreds of years ahead of time. Many novels such as Four Great Classical
Novels spawned countless fictional stories. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese culture would
embark on a new era with written vernacular Chinese for the common citizens. Hu Shih and Lu Xun
would be pioneers in modern literature.

Visual arts
Chinese art encompasses all facets of fine art, folk art and performance art. Porcelain pottery was one of
the first forms of art in the Palaeolithic period. Early Chinese music and poetry was influenced by the
Book of Songs, and the Chinese poet and statesman Qu Yuan. Chinese painting became a highly
appreciated art in court circles encompassing a wide variety of Shan shui with specialized styles such as
Ming Dynasty painting. Early Chinese music was based on percussion instruments, which later gave
away to stringed and reed instruments. By the Han dynasty papercutting became a new art form after
the invention of paper. Chinese opera would also be introduced and branched regionally in additional to
other performance formats such as variety arts.
Martial arts
China is one of the main birth places of Eastern martial arts. Chinese martial arts are collectively given
the name Kung Fu ((gong) "achievement" or "merit", and (fu) "man", thus "human achievement") or
(previously and in some modern contexts) Wushu ("martial arts" or "military arts"). China also includes
the home to the well-respected Shaolin Monastery and Wudang Mountains. The first generation of art
started more for the purpose of survival and warfare than art. Regardless, China has produced some of
the most renowned martial artists including Wong Fei Hung and many others. The arts have also co-

existed with a variety of weapons including the more standard 18 arms. Legendary and controversial
moves like Dim Mak are also praised and talked about within the culture.
Architecture
Chinese architecture, examples for which can be found from over 2,000 years ago, has long been a
hallmark of the culture. There are certain features common to Chinese architecture, regardless of
specific region or use. The most important is its emphasis on width, as the wide halls of the Forbidden
City serve as an example. In contrast, Western architecture emphasize on height, though there are
exceptions such as pagodas.
Another important feature is symmetry, which connotes a sense of grandeur as it applies to everything
from palaces to farmhouses. One notable exception is in the design of gardens, which tends to be as
asymmetrical as possible. Like Chinese scroll paintings, the principle underlying the garden's
composition is to create enduring flow, to let the patron wander and enjoy the garden without
prescription, as in nature herself. Feng shui has played an important part in structural development.

Fashion
Different social classes in different eras boast different fashion trends, the colour yellow is usually
reserved for the emperor. China's fashion history covers hundreds of years with some of the most
colourful and diverse arrangements. During the Qing Dynasty, China's last imperial dynasty dramatic
shift of clothing occurred, the clothing of the era before the Qing Dynasty is referred to as Hanfu or
traditional Han Chinese clothing. Many symbols such as phoenix have been used for decorative as well
as economic purposes.
Music
The music of China dates back to the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts
providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BCE - 256
BCE). Some of the oldest written music dates back to Confucius's time. The first major well-documented
flowering of Chinese music was for the qin during the Tang Dynasty, although the instrument is known
to have played a major part before the Han Dynasty.
There are many musical instruments that are integral to Chinese culture, such as the zheng (zither with
movable bridges), qin (bridgeless zither), sheng and xiao (vertical flute), the erhu (alto fiddle or bowed
lute), pipa (pear-shaped plucked lute), and many others.

Folklore and other relevant symbols
YinYang
In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang, which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is
used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and
interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only
exist in relation to each other. The concept lies at the origins of many branches of classical Chinese
science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of traditional Chinese medicine and a
central principle of different forms of Chinese martial arts and exercise, such as baguazhang, taijiquan
(tai chi), and qigong (Chi Kung) and of I Ching divination. Many natural dualities—e.g. dark and light,
female and male, low and high, cold and hot— are thought of as manifestations of yin and yang
(respectively).
Wu Xing
The Wu Xing, also known as the Five Phases, the Five Agents, the Five Movements, and the Five
Steps/Stages, are chiefly an ancient mnemonic device, in many traditional Chinese fields.
Wood (Chinese: 木, pinyin: mù)
Fire (Chinese: 火, pinyin: huǒ)
Earth (Chinese: 土, pinyin: tǔ)
Metal (Chinese: 金, pinyin: jīn)
Water (Chinese: 水, pinyin: shuǐ )
This system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena.

Living Conditions
Cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become
highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and
Southern Africa. The overwhelmingly large variety of Chinese cuisine comes mainly from the practice of
dynastic period, when emperors would host banquets with 100 dishes per meal. A countless number of
imperial kitchen staff and concubines were involved in the food preparation process.
Types of Dishes
1. Poultry-based dishes
2. Pork-based dishes
3. Grain-based dishes
a. Rice-based dishes – fried rice
b. Noodles – noodle soup, fried noodles
c. Legume-based dishes – Doufu, Mapo Doufu
d. Vegetable-based dishes
Typical Meals
Over time, many dishes became part of the everyday-citizen culture.
1. Staple Foods
a. Rice – steamed rice
b. Noodles
c. Soybeans – Tofu
d. Wheat – Noodles, breads, dumplings and steamed buns
e. Vegetables – Chinese Spinach, Chinese Cabbage
f. Herbs
g. Seasonings – Soy sauce, Oyster Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Fermented Tofu, Hoisin Sauce
h. Desserts – served with tea and meals
2. Beverages
a. Chinese Tea – with Dim Sum, black tea, Oolong tea, green tea, scented tea
b. Liquor – yellow wine

c. Herbal Drinks – medicinal Chinese herbs
Dining Etiquettes
The Chinese prefer to entertain in public places rather than in their homes, especially when
entertaining foreigners.
If you are invited to their house, consider it a great honour. If you must turn down such an
honour, it is considered polite to explain the conflict in your schedule so that your actions are
not taken as a slight.
Arrive on time.
Remove your shoes before entering the house.
Bring a small gift to the hostess.
Eat well to demonstrate that you are enjoying the food!
Table manners
Wait to be told where to sit. The guest of honour will be given a seat facing the door.
The host begins eating first.
You should try everything that is offered to you.
Never eat the last piece from the serving tray.
Be observant to other peoples' needs.
The host offers the first toast.
Do not put bones in your bowl. Place them on the table or in a special bowl for that purpose.
Hold the rice bowl close to your mouth while eating.
Do not be offended if a Chinese person makes slurping or belching sounds; it merely indicates
that they are enjoying their food.
There are no strict rules about finishing all the food in your bowl.
Chopstick Usage Etiquettes
It does not matter whether you hold the chopsticks in the middle or at the end, but you should
make sure that the ends are even.
Chopsticks are not used to move bowls or plates.
Chopsticks are not used to toy with one's food or with dishes in common.
When not in use, chopsticks must always be placed neatly on the table with two sticks lying
tidily next to each other at both ends.
Treat chopsticks as extension of your fingers, and do not point at other people or wave
chopsticks around.
Do not suck the tips of chopsticks.
Do not impale food with chopsticks.
Do not point the chopsticks at another person. This amounts to insulting that person.
Do not bang your chopsticks as though you were playing a drum. It implies you are a child, or a
beggar.
Do not stick chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice; it implies the food is for the dead.

Some of the highest quality restaurants with recipes close to the dynastic periods include Fangshan
restaurant in Beihai Park Beijing and the Oriole Pavilion. Arguably all branches of Hong Kong eastern
style or even American Chinese food are in some ways rooted from the original dynastic cuisines.
Malnutrition rates
Though China has uplifted a huge number of people out of poverty, many social issues still remain
unsolved. One of them is malnutrition among rural children in China. The problem has diminished but
still remains a pertinent national issue. The stunting rate among children in China was 22 percent and
was as high as 46 percent in poor provinces.
A survey conducted by China’s Ministry of Health showed the kind of food consumed by rural
households. 30 percent consume meat less than once a month. 23 percent consume rice or egg less
than once a month. Up to 81 percent consume less than one cup of dairy products a week. Dairy
products and eggs provide essential nutrients that are important for a child’s physical development.
Housing
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is a ministry of the government of the People's
Republic of China which provides housing and regulates the state construction activities in the country.
As part of US$586 billion economic stimulus package of November 2008, the government plans to:
1. Housing – Increase the construction of more affordable and low-rent housing and the speeding
up of slum demolition, to initiate a pilot program to rebuild rural homes, and a program to
encourage nomads to move into permanent housing.
2. Rural infrastructure – Improve roads and power grids in the countryside, and drinking water,
including a huge project to divert water from the South to the North of China. Also, poverty
relief initiatives will be strengthened.
Urban Planning
Urban Planning in China or The People's Republic of China is currently characterized by a top down
approach, high density urban development and extensive urbanization.
Types of Cities by Urban Planning Morphologies
Over the years, urban planning philosophies and practices have represented a divergence from
traditional Chinese urban planning morphologies. They are:
1. Traditional City – walled cities, for example, Xi'an and Beijing's Forbidden City. Traditional cities,
were planned in a manner similar to that of present day, was they were also directly affected by
the philosophies, governance and economies of their time. Traditional cities are often planned
in accordance with archaic concepts of geomancy, Feng-shui, I-Ching. The Rites of Zhou dating
to approximately (1100–256 BC) serve to emphasize the importance of such philosophies, the
cardinal directions and harmony between the human and natural realms. China's history is rich

with examples of early planning philosophies and practices evidenced by traditional cities such
as, but not limited to Chang'an (Xi'an), Beijing, Nanjing and Luoyang.
2. Socialist City – (1950–1980) Planning efforts focused to increase the percentage of blue-collar
workers, create affordable housing, urban communes, work unit (danwei), discrete enclosures,
broad, central avenues and large squares and Soviet style exhibition halls. Examples include:
Harbin or Kharbin and Beijing.
3. Hybrid City – (1860–Present) Planning that incorporating western planning and design principles
meshed with traditional Chinese street grids and architectural principles. These were often the
first cities to develop modern infrastructures networks and include cities such as Shanghai and
Tianjin.
4. Global City – (1990–Present) Planning aimed to encourage strategic economic development of a
region for the purposes of global economic participation as a key node in the globalized market;
coined and conceptualized by Saskia Sassen. Global cities are characterized by international
familiarity, participation in international events and global affairs, densely populated
metropolitan areas, Central Business Districts (CBD) housing key financial, corporate
headquarters and national services, extensive public transportation systems, internationally

networked airports, large-scale commercial and industrial zones and multiple urban cores.
Examples include Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and more recently Shenzhen.
The sustained growth of the Chinese economy and the number of cities and towns in China continues to
rise from 640 in 1995 to 660 in 2002, while organic towns rose from 17,000 to 20,600 with a total
population reaching 502 million with an urbanization level of approximately 39.1%. To mirror such rapid
urbanization rates, the quality of urban planning in China continues to increase as corresponding plans
are made in all cities, most towns and many villages with an aim to guide and facilitate land use and
construction activities, while promoting economic and social development to improve the living
conditions of urban and rural areas alike.
Clothing
Chinese clothing is the clothing, ancient and modern, worn by the Chinese people. It has varied by
region and time, and is recorded by the artifacts and arts of Chinese culture.
National dress
Tangzhuang refers to the Chinese jacket that originated at the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) and
is the national costume for men of China, although women wear it as well. Tangzhuang is made in

different colors, most commonly red, dark blue, gold and black. One common design is the usage of
Chinese characters as monogram such as Fu ('happiness' in Chinese) , Shou ('longevity' in Chinese) to
spread good luck and wishes.
Contemporary Chinese Clothing
Chinese fashion has drastically changed over time. Following the relaxation of communist clothing
standards in the late 70s, the way Chinese dressed and the fashion trends of the country were also
changing. Contemporary urban clothing seemed to have developed an obsession with brand names. In
major urban centres, especially Shanghai, an increased western look is preferred, and there is an
emphasis on formal wear over casual wear for adults on the streets. Teenagers prefer brand names and
western clothing. Children usually wear clothes decorated with cartoon characters.
However in rural China, clothing tends to be the same as it was in the 1960s. This is because life in rural
China has not been influenced by western lifestyle. Also, most people residing in rural China cannot
afford such new and pricey clothing from new western style companies. However, many rural Chinese in
the less isolated areas have blue jeans, T-shirts, and modern jackets because of many factories that
manufacture these goods at an affordable price. Rural Chinese just don't have the fancier modern
clothing such as designer jeans, high heels, miniskirts, dresses, etc. People in rural China also tend to
have cotton shoes, but the wealthier areas may have cheap sneakers. In rural China non-western
modern clothing e.g. Mao suit are usually hand-made by grandmothers who are very experienced in
tailoring and sewing.
Sports and other leisure activities
Sport
Although China has long been associated with the martial arts, sport in China today consists of a small
variety of competitive sports played in China. Traditional Chinese culture regards physical fitness as an
important aspect, and, since the 20th century, a large number of sports activities, both Western and
traditionally Chinese, are popular in China. The country has its own national quadrennial multi-sport
event similar to the Olympic Games, the National Games of the People's Republic of China.
Football, basketball, and ping pong are the main sports in China.
A comprehensive list of the types of sports played in China is:

1. Badminton
2. Bandy – Russian Hockey
3. Baseball
4. Basketball
5. Boxing
6. Chess
7. Cricket
8. Curling – the stone sliding game
9. Figure Skating
10. Football
11. Golf
12. Motor racing
13. Rugby
14. Snooker
15. Ping Pong
16. Tennis
China led the gold medal count (51) at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games which were held in Beijing
from 8 August to 24 August 2008.
Leisure
A number of games and pastimes are popular within Chinese culture. The most common game is Mah
Jong – a board game. The same pieces are used for other styled games such as Shanghai Solitaire.
Others include Pai Gow, Pai gow poker and other bone domino games. Weiqi and Xiangqi are also
popular. Ethnic games like Chinese yo-yo are also part of the culture.

Social welfare in China
Social welfare in the People's Republic of China has undergone various changes throughout history. The
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security is responsible for the social welfare system.
In pre-1980s reform China, the socialist state fulfilled the needs of society from cradle to grave. Child
care, education, job placement, housing, subsistence, health care, and elder care were largely the
responsibility of the work unit as administered through state-owned enterprises and agricultural
communes and collectives. As those systems disappeared or were reformed, the "iron rice bowl"
approach to welfare changed. Article 14 of the constitution stipulates that the state "builds and
improves a welfare system that corresponds with the level of economic development."
In 2004 China experienced the greatest decrease in its poorest population since 1999 – number of
people with a per capita income of less than 668 renminbi (RMB; US$80.71) decreased 2.9 million or 10
percent, those with a per capita income of no more than 924 RMB (US$111.64) decreased by 6.4 million
or 11.4 percent.
Welfare reforms since the late 1990s have included unemployment insurance, medical insurance,
workers’ compensation insurance, maternity benefits, communal pension funds, and individual pension
accounts.

Health Care in China
China is undertaking reform of its health-care system. The New Rural Co-operative Medical Care System
(NRCMCS) is a 2005 initiative to overhaul the healthcare system, particularly intended to make it more
affordable for the rural poor . Under the NRCMCS, the annual cost of medical coverage is 50 yuan (US$7)
per person. Of that, 20 yuan is paid in by the central government, 20 yuan by the provincial government
and a contribution of 10 yuan is made by the patient. As of September 2007, around 80% of the rural
population of China had signed up (about 685 million people). The system is tiered, depending on the
location. If patients go to a small hospital or clinic in their local town, the system will cover roughly 70-
80% of their bill. If the patient visits a county clinic, the percentage of the cost being covered falls to
about 60%. If the patient requires a specialist in a modern city hospital, the plan would cover about 30%
of the bill.
Health Indicators
Indicators of the status of China’s health sector can be found in the nation’s fertility rate of 1.8 children
per woman (a 2005 estimate) and the infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births was 25.3 (a 2004
estimate).
In 2005 China had about 1,938,000 physicians (1.5 per 1,000 persons) and about 3,074,000 hospital beds
(2.4 per 1,000 persons). Health expenditures on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis were US$224 per
capita in 2001, or 5.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Some 37.2 percent of public
expenditures were devoted to health care in China in 2001. However, about 80 percent of the health
and medical care services are concentrated in cities, and timely medical care is not available to more
than 100 million people in rural areas. To offset this imbalance, in 2005 China set out a five-year plan to
invest 20 billion renminbi (RMB; US$2.4 billion) to rebuild the rural medical service system composed of
village clinics and township- and county-level hospitals.
Healthcare situation post 1990
Western style medical facilities with international staff are available in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and
a few other large cities. Many other hospitals in major Chinese cities have so-called V.I.P. wards or
gaogan bingfang. These feature reasonably up-to-date medical technology and physicians who are both
knowledgeable and skilled.
Despite the introduction of western style medical facilities, the PRC has several emerging public health
problems, which include problems as a result of pollution, a progressing HIV-AIDS epidemic, hundreds of
millions of cigarette smokers, and the increase in obesity among the population. The HIV epidemic, in
addition to the usual routes of infection, was exacerbated in the past by unsanitary practices used in the
collection of blood in rural areas. The problem with tobacco is complicated by the concentration of most
cigarette sales in a government controlled monopoly. The government, dependent on tobacco revenue,
seems hesitant in its response and may even encourage it as seen from government websites. Hepatitis
B is endemic in mainland China, with about 10% of the population contracting the disease. Some
hepatitis researchers link hepatitis infections to a lower ratio of female births. If this link is confirmed,

this would partially explain China's gender imbalance. A program initiated in 2002 will attempt over the
next 5 years to vaccinate all newborns in mainland China.
Strains of avian flu outbreaks in recent years among local poultry and birds, along with a number of its
citizens, have caused great concern for China and other countries. While the virus is currently mainly
animal-human transmissible (with only two well documented cases of human-human have been to the
present known of to scientists), experts expect an avian flu pandemic that would affect the region
should the virus morph to be human-human transmissible.[13]
A more recent outbreak is the pig-human transmission of the Streptococcus suis bacteria in 2005, which
has led to 38 deaths in and around Sichuan province, an unusually high number. Although the bacteria
exists in other pig rearing countries, the pig-human transmission has only been reported in China.
By 2002, 92 percent of the urban population and 8 percent of the rural population had access to an
improved water supply, and 69 percent of the urban population and 32 percent of the rural population
had access to improved sanitation facilities.

Language
Chinese languages, or the Sinitic languages (Hànyǔ; Huáyǔ; Zhōngwén) is a language family consisting of
languages which are mostly mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. About one-fifth of the world’s
population, or over one billion people, speak some variety of Chinese as their native language. Internal
divisions of Chinese are usually perceived by their native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese
language, rather than separate languages, although this identification is considered inappropriate by
some linguists and Sinologists.
There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese (depending on classification scheme), of
which the most spoken, by far, is Mandarin (about 850 million), followed by Wu (90 million), Cantonese
(Yue) (70 million) and Min (50 million). Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some,
like Xiang and the Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms and some degree of
intelligibility.
Official Language
Standard Chinese is the official language of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of
China (ROC, also known as Taiwan), as well as one of four official languages of Singapore.Standard
Chinese (Putonghua / Guoyu / Huayu) is a standardized form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing
dialect of Mandarin Chinese, referred to as Guānhuà or Běifānghuà in Chinese. It is one of the six official
languages of the United Nations. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is influential in
Guangdong Province and Cantonese-speaking overseas communities, and remains one of the official
languages of Hong Kong (together with English) and of Macau (together with Portuguese). Min Nan, part
of the Min language group, is widely spoken in southern Fujian, in neighbouring Taiwan (where it is
known as Taiwanese or Hoklo) and in Southeast Asia (known as Hokkien in Singapore and Malaysia).
There are also sizeable Hakka and Shanghainese diaspora, for example in Taiwan, where most Hakka
communities maintain diglossia by being conversant in Taiwanese and Standard Chinese.
Dialects
Traditional Chinese classification lists seven groups, comprising:
Gan (Jiangxinese) – 9 dialects
Guan (Mandarin or Beifanghua) – 50 dialects
Kejia (Hakka) – 10 dialects
Min (including the Hokkien and Taiwanese variants)
Wu (including the Shanghainese variant)
Xiang (Hunanese)
Yue (including the Cantonese and Taishanese variants)
James Matisoff’s – a modern linguist’s, widely accepted classification is as follows:
Mandarin → Jin
Wu → Huizhou

Yue → Pinghua
Min
Xiang
Hakka (Kejia)
Gan

Sources of information
China and other related pages, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
China: Chinese Culture, Etiquette, Manners And Protocol; www.kwintessential.com
“Family Dynamics in China – A Life table Analysis”, by Yi Zeng
China: A country analysis for Staples Incorporated, www.sixsmart.com

Cultural Analysis of China for Business Development

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