Older than 5000 years, the Chinese culture managed to retain its unique identity, despite the rise of the Western World, keeping its governance, philosophy, and religion intact, against other cultural currents..
As the second-largest economy of the world, China is one of the most attractive places for business people, but few of them know some basic things that need to be taken into account when traveling there. We'll talk about internet and why do you need to use a VPN like in order to access websites from the West. We will also mention other customs which will help you to integrate much faster and establish some nice relationships with the locals.
Dealing with "the Great Firewall"
The internet had arrived in China since January 1996, but the Chinese government began enacting several pieces of legislation and projects in order to limit internet usage inside the country. Labeled by the Wired magazine "the Great Firewall", it represents more than 60 internet regulations created in order to limit access to foreign popular websites like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. If you plan to travel there and constantly be online, you'll need to use VPN, Pocket WiFi +VPN, or Sim card (T-Mobile seems to be the most suitable) + VPN.
Basic Chinese business conventions
In dealing with business people from Chine, you need to be up-to-date with some of their basic customs and rituals, in order to be able to connect with them as quick as possible. You must be fully aware that you always receive a Chinese person's business card with both hands and then you should thank for it. At first glance, a business talk with a Chinese should involve agreeing with everything (even though that may not be the case a few days later) in order to create a cordial environment, appropriate for a business discussion.
Learning some basic language
Considering that English is not widely spoken in China, not even in the business community, knowing at least a few basic words will help you create a much better first impression. You must also be aware that Mandarin is spoken in Beijing and Shanghai, while Cantonese is spoken in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau. You won't be able to learn the language too fast, but thanks to technology, you have a few free apps available that could help you. Pleco is a Chinese-English dictionary that comes with an integrated document reader. It can understand and translate a phrase for you and the only thing you need to do is to snap a photo.
Download WeChat
A very popular app in China, WeChat is used for all sorts of communication inside the country. You could use it to order a taxi (DiDi is a very popular platform there and it also accepts WeChat payments), for free instant messages, or free instant calls. It makes it easy to connect with locals by simply scanning their WeChat QR. This is useful especially when you don't have a SIM card to make calls locally or internationally.
