Chinese view Americans as Cowboys
Last week I attended a “Chinese cultural workshop”. The company I work for will open a new manufacturing plant in China soon. So, employees were invited to attend this workshop in order to “understand” the Chinese people and how to do business with them.
My wife is born and raised in China. She taught me everything I needed to know about China. I have visited China twice so far. Nevertheless, I wanted to attend the workshop just in case there was something new I could learn (and maybe brag about in front of my wife) 
.
The following are some of the interesting things mentioned in the workshop.
Let me start by saying that there are no such thing as fortune cookies in China. Fortune cookies were invented in California, USA. With that out of the way, let’s see how Americans view Chinese.
Americans view Chinese as:
- Indistinguishable from one another
- Unsophisticated
- Difficult to understand
- Reserved
- Secretive
- Autocratic
Chinese view Americans as:
- Cowboys – I bet you that they got the “cowboy” stereotype from Hollywood movies
- Impulsive, impatient, and immature
- Arrogant, loud, self absorbed
- Interested only in personal profit
- Young and rebellious
- Sexually explicit
- Good entrepreneurs, innovative and creative
(source: Cowboys and Dragon by Charles Lee)
Chinese don’t like the numbers 4 and 5. What they like most are numbers 8 and 9.
Chinese don’t like the color white. What they like most is the color red.
If you are traveling to China, here are some tips on what types of gift Chinese will mostly appreciate (or not appreciate).
What to give as gifts:
- Made in USA products – Almost everything is made in China nowadays, so you’ll have to look hard
- Name brands like Levis Jeans, Armani…
- Any highly taxable imports like wine, liquor and cigarettes
What not to give as gifts:
- Clocks = your time is up, you’re going to die soon
- Green hats = your wife or husband is cheating on you
- Cheese – Chinese just do not like cheese
- Anything white
And if you want to see, listen and read some of my observations when I visited China, proceed to my post titled A Different World.
8 Comments | Filed in Personal, Tips | Tags: china1306313812 extra readers
If you have a blog on Google’s blogspot, rejoice, you may now have 1,306,313,812 extra people reading your blog.
Back when I was in China a few weeks ago, blogs hosted on Google’s blogspot were not accessible as they were blocked by the Chinese government. But, based on this InfoWorld article, China has now opened up access to Google’s Blogger.com service. Google is apparently expanding not only in the USA but also in China. (via)
If anyone in China is reading this, can you confirm that you can access a blogspot blog?
2 Comments | Filed in Interesting Stuff | Tags: blog, china, GoogleA Different World
People living in the United States of America (including myself) often do not appreciate the great things that this great country offers them, the freedom that they enjoy, and the many things that make their lives easier and safer. To appreciate all of this, you will have to live a few days without them, without what you’re used to on a daily basis; you will have to experience living in a totally different culture, a totally different country. That’s what happened to me during my trip to Shanghai, China. Here are a few customs and behaviors that seemed weird to me, even though I’m sure that they are totally normal for the Chinese people living in China: Continue reading…
10 Comments | Filed in Personal | Tags: chinaA special query
Now that Tom Kyte has closed this thread on AskTom, it’s time to move on to a less passionate but equally personal topic. Consider this query: Continue reading…
Comments Off | Filed in Personal | Tags: china, photoCheaper gas and blogspot block
I am enjoying my vacation in Shanghai, China. It’s a totally different world here. One of the things I’ve noticed is the price of gas. I took this picture today: Continue reading…
10 Comments | Filed in Personal | Tags: china, gasIt is my turn now
I’m heading to China tomorrow for a two week vacation. I’ll be visiting my parents in law in Shanghai. It’ll be my second visit to China. My first visit was in 2000. I went to Hong Kong and Beijing. I hated Beijing. It is the most polluted city in the world, at least that’s how it was in 2000.
Most probably I will have Internet access while I’m on vacation. Humm! That sounds like an oxymoron: Internet, vacation. But hey, what will I be doing when everybody starts talking Chinese? Either I sit like an idiot, smiling and nodding my head, or fire up my laptop and start surfing. The choice is clear. Of course, I’ll be visiting lots of exciting places and eating lots of weird food (no dogs, I promise), and of course, taking lots of pictures.
7 Comments | Filed in Personal | Tags: china, vacation
