Culture Shock! China: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette [Paperback]

Rebecca Weiner (Author), Angie Eagan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2007

With over three million copies in print, CultureShock! is a bestselling series of culture and etiquette guides covering countless destinations around the world. For anyone at risk of culture shock, whether a tourist or a longterm resident, CultureShock! provides a sympathetic and fun-filled crash course on the do's and don'ts in foreign cultures. Fully updated and sporting a fresh new look, the revised editions of these books enlighten and inform through such topics as language, food and entertaining, social customs, festivals, relationships, and business tips. CultureShock! books are packed with useful details on transportation, taxes, finances, accommodation, health, food and drink, clothes, shopping, festivals, and much, much more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marshall Cavendish is a Marshall Cavendish author.

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corporation; 2nd edition (September 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761454039
• ISBN-13: 978-0761454038
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #573,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You NEED to know and more!, July 14, 2010

By 

William Chant (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Culture Shock! China: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Paperback)

I read "Culture Shock : China" before my first visit to the Middle Kingdom. Anything and everything shocking was revealed to me before my visit. True, it was still a fresh, new, and exciting experience even with all the hints I got from this book. Most people who aren't going far off the beaten path, will never even experience allot of what's discussed in the book. Most will be in cities or nice hotels. I took the road less traveled. No joke. So I witnessed every ounce of culture mentioned. I lived on a farm and ate local food only... I met children and people of all ages and had someone to translate the whole time. I found the tips made me easier to fit in but, the people so willing to accept me as I was.

Cities visited.... Xi'an, Baoji, Beijing... some rural cities in between. I'd love to go back someday. If you are planning on going. Get this book! You will not regret it. The whole series is extremely valuable.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read BEFORE you make a single travel arrangement, May 13, 2008

By 

Kenn M. Magnum (Socorro, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Culture Shock! China: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Paperback)

Cultureshock covers most if not all the content of about 3 other books I've read on traveling to china. Had I read this first I would have not made some of my initial mistakes in arranging travel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best cultural guidebook to China I've read, February 25, 2011

By 

David Talbert (Shanghai, China) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Culture Shock! China: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Paperback)

Note: I've been living in Shanghai for four years.

This is a first-time or temporary resident's guide to life in China, covering some history and cultural issues and focusing on what such residents will probably spend most of their time doing: working, eating, exploring China and the Chinese, learning the language, and just socializing. There's a brief section on language, which helpfully explains why Chinese is so hard to learn. The book is also extremely up-to-date, which is important in a country that changes so rapidly.

This little book is without a doubt the most helpful of any of the introductions to life in China that I've had the chance to read. It has a much better section on Chinese culture than others I've run into, highlighting cultural aspects (such as guanxi and courtyard culture) that can really cause problems for a clueless Westerner. The material is also very well organized. The section on business is concise and very helpful, even if you aren't a regular businessperson, and the little `Chinese Culture Quiz' at the end is fun and integrates a lot of concepts from the book. I would definitely recommend this as a first stop for anyone coming to China for temporary or short-term work.