China’s Law Against Rudeness

China’s first “Queuing Day” was announced 18 months prior to the start of the Beijing Olympics. It was part of the Chinese campaign for “civilized behavior” to ready Beijing for the world stage. — Years ago, Beijing was denied the 2000 Olympics largely because the memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre was too fresh. But by 2001, Olympic organizers figured that awarding the Games to Beijing in ’08 was less an international stamp of approval than it was a challenge to China to clean up its act.

Changing China: Good try, but no sale.

BEIJING’S NEW LAW criminalizing bad customer service sounds humorous at first. It’s fun to imagine calling the cops on a snooty shoe salesman at the Westside Pavilion.

But as funny as it sounds, the new law — which makes it illegal for Beijing sales clerks to be rude to their customers — is no joke. It not only exposes the bizarre contradictions of China’s brand of authoritarian capitalism, it makes the West’s policy of reforming the world’s most populous nation through engagement look positively silly.

Fourteen years ago, Beijing was denied the 2000 Olympics largely because the memory of the Tiananmen Square massacre was too fresh. But by 2001, Olympic organizers figured that awarding the Games to Beijing in ’08 was less an international stamp of approval than it was a challenge to China to clean up its act.

The logic was simple: Exposure to the world — including tens of thousands of foreign journalists — was a greater incentive for China to honor international human rights conventions than was yet another rejection at the hands of the International Olympic Committee.

In theory, that wasn’t a bad idea. Despite the complexities of geopolitics, it is astonishing how insecure a nation’s leaders can become in the face of hordes of foreign tourists and reporters. Last year, before the start of the World Cup, many German officials and pundits were deathly afraid that their countrymen would be less than gracious hosts to millions of visiting soccer fans. Their worries, it turns out, were unfounded. But if you’ve ever been to Beijing, you might understand why Chinese officials have become obsessed with their countrymen’s manners.

Two decades ago, writer Bo Yang, who has been described as a Chinese Voltaire, was pilloried on the mainland for writing an essay titled “The Ugly Chinaman,” in which he excoriated his countrymen for being, among other things, too loud and too crass. That officials in Beijing are now in open agreement with Yang is a sign that some things have changed.

Beijing officials are not just targeting shopkeepers; they have launched a massive public service campaign to encourage capital dwellers to be more friendly and outgoing, as well as to curtail such behaviors as littering, spitting in public and cutting in lines. Etiquette books have been distributed. New cab drivers are taking courses in basic English and politeness.

And to spread the love, officials have also begun to target the growing number of Chinese tourists who travel abroad. The Spiritual Civilizational Steering Committee of the Communist Party — yes, it’s actually called that — is on the verge of publishing a handy guide that will, according to a government newspaper, ensure that the behavior of Chinese tourists is “compatible with the nation’s economic strength and its growing international status.”

But given China’s history of outrageous social engineering campaigns, it’s not surprising that the current drive is falling on deaf ears. “I think people are numb to government campaigns,” said Beijing resident Lu-Chin Mischke.

Two years ago, Mischke founded the Pride Institute, which is dedicated to raising the level of etiquette of the Chinese public. Mischke, who married an American and has lived abroad, takes a different tack than the government. She appeals to individual rather than national pride and in her small way hopes to create an environment of “positive peer pressure” that will limit “antisocial behavior.”

To that end, she has printed up six cards that are handed out to Beijing residents. The cards encourage certain behavior, such as making eye contact when greeting people and establishing “a caring manner.”

But for all her missionary zeal, Mischke is pessimistic about her odds of success in the short run. As the Beijing government must be. Encouraging polite behavior is one thing, criminalizing rudeness is quite another.

Gordon G. Chang, the author of “The Coming Collapse of China,” says the shopkeeper law, which goes into effect next month, is proof that the Olympics will not democratize China in the way some had hoped. Although he concedes that there has been some progress —such as agreeing to temporarily relax restrictions on foreign reporters — he thinks the new law, no matter how unevenly applied, just goes to show how comfortable the Chinese government is in extending a heavy hand when it needs to. And in the end, that may bother well-intentioned Westerners more than it does any Beijing shoe salesman.

The truth is that China’s ability to blend capitalism and authoritarianism flies in the face of many cherished Western notions. Not only are we convinced that economic liberalization goes hand in hand with democratization, our engagement policy is premised on the false notion that once nations get to know us, they will happily choose to be like us.

Yes, Chinese officials want to impress the world at the 2008 Olympics. But enacting an absurd, heavy-handed law to improve etiquette wasn’t the kind of sprucing up that Western optimists had in mind.— By Gregory Rodriguez for the L.A. Times, 2007

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Chinese Conversation Etiquette

Chinese brothers in the United States, circa 1890 – Confucianism's core values of etiquette and politeness are key components of the Chinese culture value system.

Extreme Politeness: Chinese etiquette requires that in conversation, each should compliment the other, and everybody belonging to him in the most laudatory style, and depreciate himself, with all pertaining to him, to the lowest possible point.  

The following is a fair sample of Chinese conversation; “What is your honorable name?” “My insignificant appellation is Wong.” “Where is your magnificent palace?” “My contemptible hut is at Suchan.” “How many are your illustrious children?” “My vile, worthless brats are five.” “How is the health of your distinguished spouse?” “My mean, good-for-nothing old woman is well.” — Harper’s Weekly , 1861

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Violating Imperial Etiquette

Imperial Chinese eunuchs carrying and attending to the Chinese Empress, circa 1900 —  No society clung more tenaciously to the long-established custom of having eunuchs at Royal and Imperial courts than the Chinese. Confucianism promoted all things ancient, chiding every dynastic Monarch to meticulously follow those precedents set not only by saintly historical Kings of old, but also by God-Kings glorified in China's legendary past. Chronicles of those courts reveal that Chinese Kings as early as the 8th Century B.C. kept castrated servitors. — Source Hidden Power: The Palace Eunuchs of Imperial China

Punished for Curiosity:

A Learned Chinese Doctor Pays Dearly for a Little Innocent Sightseeing

It is dangerous to gratify curiosity or to violate precedent at the Chinese Imperial court. The Empress dowager is a great stickler for etiquette. Recently she required the services of Dr. Li Teoh'ang, Vice President of the Imperial Academy of Physicians, at Peking, for one of the members of her suite at Eho Park Palace. 

The learned doctor had never been inside these famous palace grounds, and his curiosity was fired to see the many curious objects of which he had heard wonderful tales. So he bribed a palace eunuch to show him around the grounds. While the two were leisurely walking about and enjoying themselves, the Empress spied them. She at once dispatched servants to punish their effrontery.

The eunuch was seized, thrown on his face and accommodated with 50 blows with the bamboo on the calves of his fat legs. The doctor was docked three months' pay and received a severe reprimand, while his assistant was ordered never to venture again into the Empress' presence. 

The affair created a sensation because of the high position of the physician and of the humiliating punishment dealt out to him. —New York Sun, 1894

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Royal Chinese Etiquette Book of 1405

Empress Xu (徐皇后) (1362 – July 1407), was the empress consort to the Yongle Emperor and the third empress of China's Ming dynasty. “Mount Tai may crumble away or she may have to walk over sharp-edged swords, but this resolve must not pass from her.”

Royal Chinese Authoress

Wrote a Book of

Social Etiquette in the Year 1405

The Empress Consort of the Emperor Yung Lo of the Ming dynasty in A. D. 1405, committed to paper her thoughts on the behavior of women, under the title of "Instructions for the Inner Apartments," i. e. for women. These are arranged under twenty headings, with an additional chapter on the education of girls. 

The Empress lays much stress on gentleness, good temper, economy, kind treatment of the young and of relatives, but thinks that speech unrestrained is the real rock upon which most women split. "If your mouth is like a closed door, your words will become proverbial; but if it is like a running tap, no heed will be paid to what you say." In her additional chapter on education, which is really more or less a doggerel poem of about three hundred and fifty lines, our authoress will be considered very disappointing by some. 

So far from pleading for higher education for Chinese women, she urges only that a girl's governess should teach her pupil to practise filial piety, virtue, propriety, deportment, good manners and domestic duties as a preparation for her "entry into married life." Then, if she has no children, to continue the ancestral line, she is not to show jealousy, but rather satisfaction if her husband takes a subordinate wife. 

Supposing that he dies before her, she will be left like earth without its heaven, and must transfer her dependence to her son and summon up her resolution to face widowhood until death. Mount Tai may crumble away or she may have to walk over sharp-edged swords, but this resolve must not pass from her. 

Examples are given of heroines of all ages who have died by hanging or drowning themselves rather than violate their marriage vow. "Their bodies, indeed, suffered injury in life, but their names will be fragrant for ten thousand generations." — Los Angeles Herald, 1904

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette's Ancient Global History

During the reign of Louis XIV, the behavior at French Court functions, if correct, was “according to the ticket.” 

On Manners of Other Days

Etiquette is a French word which means simply "ticket" or "label." During the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715) the functions at the French Court were so elaborate, that it became necessary to give every visitor a ticket (une étiquette) on which were listed the formalities he was expected to observe. Thus, his behavior, if correct, was "according to the ticket." It is in the sense that we have taken the word in the English and it is become to mean a code of conduct or behavior that is considered socially correct.

But long before the French Court in all its complexity adopted this device, in fact long before Western civilization came into being, ancient philosophers were concerned with man's conduct in relation to his fellows. No people have ever paid close closer attention to the matter of formal courtesy than the ancient Chinese. 

The "Li Ki," compiled by Confucius over twenty five hundred years ago, says, "Of all the methods for the ordering of man, there is none more urgent than the use of ceremonies." Yet Confucius, who was a stickler for the proprieties of social custom, cautioned against letting behavior become too elaborate. "In this matter of rituals and ceremonies," he wrote, "rather then be extravagant, be simple."

There are numerous other examples from the Chinese, many of which are so solidly founded in common sense that they apply today. For example, Chuang Tse (fifth century B.C.) said simply: "If you are always offending others by your superiority, you will come to grief. Trying to make of the customs of Chu succeed in Lu is like pushing a boat on land." To Chuang Tse society was "an agreement between a certain number of families and individuals to abide by certain customs."

The ancient sacred books of the Hindus and Buddhists also contain many excellent rules for behavior, some of which sound so modern that they might appear in one of today's etiquette columns. One of these cautions us against picking our teeth, blowing our noses loudly, yawning without covering our mouths, and biting our nails.                    

Eleanor Roosevelt pictured on her  1962, “Common Sense Book of Etiquette”

I was told as a child that it was discourteous to eat everything on my plate when I was a guest. To do so was an indication of greediness and implied that the hostess have not provided enough to eat. Indian children were told the same thing nearly two thousand years ago, for one of the Puranas cautions: "No man should eat so as nothing will be left of his meal."— Eleanor Roosevelt, 1962

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Wedding Customs

Traditional Mongolian clothing ~ “However much a Chinese girl may become Christianized there are generally several points of Mongolian etiquette which she expects to observe rigidly at her wedding.”

How Mrs. Fong Fung Regulated Her Nephew's Wedding Feast — A Unique Chinese Marriage Celebrated at the Methodist Mission

The Methodist Mission, on Washington Street, was the scene of a unique Chinese wedding last night. Ngan Kuk was the bride. Five years ago she was rescued from slavery and brought into the home, and since that time, little by little, she has learned Western ways and has abjured her idols, her ancestors and her heathen customs. But, however much a Chinese girl may become Christianized there are generally several points of Mongolian etiquette which she expects to observe rigidly at her wedding.

On that occasion, if on no other, she will paint her face, adorn her head and put on attire more gorgeous than a peacock's tail. She will also refuse the dainties of the marriage feast and refrain from casting even a sidelong glance at the bridegroom. When Ngan Kuk accepted the hand and heart of Chan Hay, a convert of the mission, she expected that her wedding feast would be as regal as the circumstances of the groom would permit, but fate, in the shape of the gentleman's aunt, willed otherwise. It is a Chinese custom that when a man who is about to get married has a mother she shall manage and control all the arrangements for his wedding. There are so few mothers-in-law in Chinatown, that this custom has almost fallen into abeyance.

Chan Hay had no mother, but he had an aunt — Mrs. Fong Fung— who has always been to him as a parent, and this lady made her presence felt at last night's wedding. She is the wife of a well-to-do Chinese merchant, and has been a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church for six years. She disapproves of frivolity in dress or deportment, and she considers Chinese custom and etiquette little short of sinful. It was owing to Mrs. Fong Fung's religious scruples that the bride wore no finery last night, and was simply arrayed in a blue blouse and a black shirt, with neat but not gaudy embroidery. The groom's attire was marked by the same absence of extravagance in dress, and as for Mrs. Fong Fung herself nothing could have been simpler than her attire. She was almost a Chinese tailor-made lady.

Rev. Dr. Masters, the head of the mission, performed the ceremony and throughout the whole, proceedings were conducted on the American plan, without the least particle of heathen custom or etiquette. There were about 150 American and Chinese visitors present and at the feast which followed the wedding, they all, the bride included, sat down in tbe big schoolroom of the mission to prettily decorated tables and partook of light refreshments prepared in American style. People declared it was the most unique Chinese wedding they had ever witnessed.–San Francisco, 1896

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Russia on Chinese Etiquette

In Chinese etiquette there are eight varieties of the bow ~ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wei Wu Pu), the same in organization and function as it was in 1901 when it first came into existence as a result of the “Peking Protocol.” The Ministry of Rites (Li Pu) succeeded the Department of Rites, without much change, but it incorporated the Court of Sacrificial Worships, the Court of State Ceremonials and the Court of Banquets which formerly duplicated some of the functions of the Department of Rites.  From “Government of China 1644-Cb,” by Pao Chao Hsieh
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The Celestials Consider Europeans Barbarians

The Russians have been making something of a study of Chinese manners and etiquette, and their periodicals are reporting what has been learned. The latest number of Russkii Vestnik says it is not surprising that the Celestials consider Europeans barbarians when they see continually what they consider bad manners and breaches of etiquette on the part of white men. The proper thing, according to the Chinese notion, is diametrically opposed to the European idea.

Western depiction of a Chinese wedding ceremony in the mid-1800s. The bride is the one whose face is completely covered. ~ "The latest number of Russkii Vestnik says it is not surprising that the Celestials consider Europeans barbarians when they see continually what they consider bad manners and breaches of etiquette on the part of white men." (Russkii Vestnik or "Russian Herald," was the literary and political journal founded in Moscow in 1856 by M. N. Katkov with the assistance of P. M. Leont'ev)

For instance, when a Chinese welcomes a visitor to his house, be does not remove his hat, if he happens to have it on. He puts his hat on if he is caught without it. The seat of honor at the table is at the left of the host. It would be considered an offense if the guest inquired about the health of the hostess, or, still worse, expressed a desire to be presented to her.

A Chinese takes offense it told that he looks younger than he is. The older the man the more he is respected, independently of his qualities, and. therefore, a Chinese wishes to appear older than he really is. He willingly forgives many offenses, but should any one happen to tread on his foot he will refuse to accept the most humble apologies. When a son dies in a Chinese family the bereaved father considers it proper to show strangers a smiling countenance, no matter what his sufferings may be.  

“A Chinese, displeased with his situation, will not tell his employer the real reason for resigning, but will give poor health or the death of a relative as a pretext for leaving.”

The Russian newspaper asserts that there is a minister of etiquette in China known as Li-Pu. Ancient books on manners are accepted by him as authority. The books include 200 volumes. Some of the rules are Draconian in their severity. A Chinese cannot even build a house according to his taste. No matter how rich he is, it is not proper for him to build a finer or a higher house than that of his neighbor if the latter happens to be of superior rank socially.

In Chinese etiquette there are eight varieties of the bow. Ignorance of Chinese ideas of propriety with regard to the bow has often caused embarrassment. A Chinese, displeased with his situation, will not tell his employer the real reason for resigning, but will give poor health or the death of a relative as a pretext for leaving. Such things have led many portions to regard the Chinese insincere, but this does them injustice. They are also unjustly considered to be cold, unemotional and indifferent to the sufferings of others. As a matter of fact this appearance of stolidity is only a specimen “of the wondertul self-control and the iron force of character with which this race is endowed.”

– The Los Angeles Herald, 1899

   Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette for the Beijing Olympics – The Little Red Book

Don't dress in more than 3 colors???

“The Little Red Book,” the sayings of Chairman Mao, was replaced by a little red booklet that instructed Beijing's residents in how to act and dress ahead of the city's 2008 Olympics.

• Don't mix more than three colours 
• Do shake hands for three seconds only 
• Don't wear your pajamas in public 
• Citizens were ordered not to dress in more than three colors, wear white socks with black shoes or parade in pajamas, in the dos and don'ts of Olympic etiquette.

Like a totalitarian version of "Trinny and Susannah," from British television's “What Not to Wear,” Zheng Mojie, deputy director of the Office of Capital Spiritual Civilisation Construction Commission, penned a booklet posted to four million Beijing households stating acceptable standards of dress and behavior.

On the black list was handshakes that last longer than three seconds, quizzing visitors about religion or politics and spitting. (Spitting was a popular habit which was banned in the city in 2006.)

The etiquette booklet was part of a slew of admonitions on manners, said Ms Mojie: “The level of civility of the whole city has improved and a sound cultural and social environment has been assured for the success of the Beijing Olympic Games.” 

There should be no more than three colour groups in your clothing, the committee advised, and wearing pajamas to visit neighbors, as some elderly Beijing residents like to do, is also out.

It recommends dark socks, and says white socks should never be worn with black leather shoes. In the last few years the government prepared people for the Olympics with the slogan: “I participate, I contribute, I enjoy.” 

Dog meat was struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants, and Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs,according to the official Xinhua News Agency . Waiters and waitresses are being instructed to patiently suggest other options to diners who order dog meat. Dog meat, known in Chinese as “xiangrou,” or “fragrant meat,” is eaten by some Chinese for its purported “health-giving qualities.” But Beijing isn't the first Olympic host to ban the dish. South Korea banned dog meat for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. South Korea invoked a law prohibiting the sale of “foods deemed unsightly.” After the Olympics, the ban was not strictly enforced. Dog meat is eaten in Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines. 

Measures such as the ban on spitting in the capital city and the introduction of a day to show more patience in lines – on the 11th of each month – have paid off, Ms Mojie said. Campaigns involving nearly a million volunteers have been launched to give etiquette tips at schools, universities and government offices.

Ms Mojie said: “Such campaigns and educational activities are now improving the lives of Beijingers. Now you'll find more smiling faces and people are more elegantly dressed.” She said people have formed a habit of queuing and at more than 1,000 bus stops people are forming orderly lines. “This has already become a habit for the Beijing citizens,” she said.

The booklet also advised there should be no public displays of affection and feet should be slightly apart or in a V or Y shape when standing. It also says residents should not ask foreigners their age, marital status, income, past experience, address, personal life, religious belief or political belief.

Another book, published in April of 2008, detailed how to be a good fan when watching Olympic competitions, saying spectators should cheer all teams, and accept that a victory or loss is temporary whereas the impression of the culture inside a sports venue lasts forever.– Originally published in BBC News

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J.Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Medaling in Etiquette for the Olympics

Staying out of hot water: The ‘Public bath pointing guidance manual’ includes important do's and don'ts for non-Japanese visiting public bathhouses in Tokyo.– Image from the Tokyo Sento Association

Cities which host the Olympics are becoming more and more savvy about the etiquette their citizens display when the world's spotlight is on them, and the etiquette of the foreign visitors arriving for the festivities. And Tokyo is no different:

Foreigners to get info on ‘sento’ etiquette ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo

Tokyo’s “sento” public bathhouses are making an effort to become foreigner-friendly by printing multilingual brochures and posters to explain Japan’s communal bathing etiquette ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. 

“We know some foreign travelers have shown interest in the bathhouses as a unique aspect of Japanese culture,” Katsutoshi Kuromasa, a section chief at the Tokyo Sento Association, said Friday. He added that member bathhouse operators in popular tourist spots like Asakusa in Taito Ward have recently seen more foreigners trying out the mass baths. 

“We expect an increase in the number of travelers and those who would like to bathe at bathhouses as the Olympic Games come to Tokyo in 2020,” said Kuromasa, who expressed hope the brochures and posters will help foreigners learn more about the cultural experience. 

Written in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese, the recently published pamphlet explains the history of public baths and communal bathing in Japan. 

The posters, which are to be put up in all of Tokyo’s public baths from mid-October, outline all the steps, from taking off one’s shoes before entering the facility and paying the fee to making sure one washes thoroughly before taking a soak. 

The association has also distributed a pointing-based manual to all public bathhouses in the capital that helps staff communicate with foreign guests who can’t speak Japanese by simply pointing at the desired questions and responses in the manual. 

A total of 20,000 brochures will be provided for free from mid-October at public baths and the three Tokyo Tourist Information Centers, at Tokyo City Hall in Shinjuku Ward, Haneda airport in Ota Ward and Keisei Ueno Station in Taito Ward. 

Public bathhouses served as community gathering places in the past, but their numbers have fallen over recent decades as more dwellings include their own bathing facilities. As of the end of September, Tokyo had 710 public bathhouses, according to the association. The bathing fee in Tokyo is ¥450 for those 12 and older, ¥180 for those 6 to 11, and ¥80 for children under 5.

Tokyo is hardly the first city to go to such measures.  Most cities want to put their best foot forward in welcoming their guests.  Notably, China started early etiquette classes for their citizens, prior to the 2008 Olympic Games.

My etiquette class students were terribly confused by this idea: “Imagine,” I said to them, “If suddenly you, and your whole family, were instructed by the government to go to the shopping center or mall, on the 11th of every month, to practice standing in line politely. Would your family go?”

  

This seemed much more “doable” to me.  Classes in etiquette are always a good idea for that added bit of polish, and one doesn't have to stand in line for an hour or so.

I'm onboard with, “It’s civilised to queue, it’s glorious to be polite.” But “Hundreds of people gave clenched fists salutes to pledge their allegiance to the campaign ...?” sounds a like a scene right out of one of the History Channel's specials on Germany in the 1930s and early 1940s. 

London moved in the opposite direction of China, by handing out some rather stereotypical sounding etiquette advice to their citizens on the foreigners who'd be invading their city, for the 2012 Olympic Games: "Hold off from hugging an Indian, don't be alarmed if the French are rude and never mistake a Canadian for an American"? 

What if it is a Canadian of Indian descent, who has moved to the U.S.? Or what if a person is someone like myself? I don't particularly like being hugged by complete strangers but am not Indian. I am also alarmed by utter rudeness, will always hesitate to be rude, but I often do get mistaken for a Canadian. I am from a city in the U.S. founded by Canadians, which is why my mail often winds up in Ontario Canada, instead of Ontario California.

Britain's national tourism office published a guide to international etiquette ahead of the London 2012 games. Advice to Londoners includes, “Indians don't like being touched by strangers and may be suspicious about the quality of British food.mHold off from hugging an Indian, don't be alarmed if the French are rude and never mistake a Canadian for an American.”

Britain's national tourism agency issued guidelines Wednesday on the etiquette of dealing with the hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors who will be coming to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Seeking to help the country's sometimes snarky citizens offer a warmer welcome, VisitBritain has updated its advice for anyone likely to work with travelers arriving from overseas — from hotel staff to taxi drivers.

Other tips: Don't go around asking Brazilians personal questions and never be bossy with visitors from the Middle East.

"Giving our foreign visitors a friendly welcome is absolutely vital to our economy," said Sandie Dawe, chief executive officer of the agency. "With hundreds of thousands of people thinking of coming to Britain in the run-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, this new advice is just one of the ways that VisitBritain is helping the tourism industry care for their customers."

About 30 million people visit Britain each year, spending about 16.6 billion pounds ($26 billion). The 2012 Olympics is likely to bring in an additional 2.1 billion ($3.3 billion) in tourism revenue, according to a government estimate, and about 320,000 extra visitors from overseas during the games in July and August 2012.

VisitBritain said research it had conducted found tourists believe Britons are honest and efficient — but not the most pleasant. Britain is ranked 14th out of 50 in the Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index on the quality of welcome offered to visitors, the tourism agency said. 

The frank etiquette tips were written by agency staff about their own native countries. Polish tourists are likely to be hurt by stereotypes that imply they drink excessively, while the French are notoriously picky in restaurants, the guidelines claim.

U.K. workers are told to brush off common Argentine jokes about a person's clothing or weight. Belgians take offense at people snapping their fingers while Australians are fond of coarse language.

Japanese people consider prolonged eye contact impolite and smile to express a range of emotions — not simply to show happiness.

Tourism workers are advised to show extra patience when dealing with guests from India or the United Arab Emirates.
“Indians are in general, an impatient lot, and like to be quickly attended to,” the guidelines claim. “The more affluent they are, the more demanding and brusque they tend to be.” 

Indians also don't like being touched by strangers and may be suspicious about the quality of British food, the guide said, without noting the latter might be a common concern.

Travelers from the Middle East are likely to be demanding with staff and “are not used to being told what they can't do,” the guide warns.

Guests from China and Hong Kong may find winking or pointing with an index finger rude, while “mentioning failure, poverty or death risks offense,” the advice claims. Chinese visitors may be unimpressed by landmarks just a few hundred years old, tourism staff are told. 

Workers are advised against discussing poverty, immigration, earthquakes or the Mexican-American war with visitors from Mexico — who prefer to chat about history and art.

Canadian tourists are likely to be quite annoyed about being mistaken for Americans, the guide suggests — urging workers to keep an eye out for maple leaf pins or badges on tourists' clothing.

And Americans? They can appear “informal to the point of being very direct or even rude” and won't ever hesitate about complaining, the guide says.

Compiled by contributor and Etiquipedia Site Editor, Maura J  Graber, who has been teaching etiquette to children, teens and adults, and training new etiquette instructors, for nearly a quarter of a century, as founder and director of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette.  She is also a writer, has been featured in countless newspapers, magazines and television shows and was an on-air contributor to PBS in Southern California for 15 years. 

Original articles from TIME Magazine, the BBC News, and Sento Etiquette from The Japan Times, by Masaaki Kameda 

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiqutette Encyclopedia

China's Etiquette Guide for Chinese Tourists Abroad

The rules urge travellers to behave and “abide by the norms of civilised tourist behaviour.” No urinating in the pool, nose picking or stealing life jackets from the plane: China issues 'civilised' travel guidebook for tourists heading abroad.

Occupying public toilets for long periods of time and leaving footprints on the seat are discouraged.

Drinking soup straight from the bowl and slurping is not appreciated.

Refrain from limp handshakes. 

Don't pick your nose in public and keep your nasal hair trimmed at all times. 

All are of the above rules are outlined in a 64-page booklet, "Guidelines On Civilised Travel Abroad" from China's National Tourism Administration. Many are country specific. (Asking Britons whether they have eaten is deemed impolite.) China's list of dos and don'ts came in 2013, at the launch of ‘Golden Week’, a public holiday that began on October first.

Do not coerce locals into taking your photo.

Beijing's handy rule book, aimed at curbing the unruly behaviour of Chinese tourists abroad who have developed an ‘uncivilised’ stereotype, is all in an effort to smooth out international relations.  China's Vice Premier Wang Yang said in May 2013, that the tourism louts had 'damaged the image of the Chinese people'.

 China's new guidebook for tourists warns that peeing in the pool is not optional.

In the book, which also comes with helpful illustrations, tourists are urged not to occupy public toilets for long periods or leave footprints on the seat.

Life jackets should be left underneath the seat in aircraft, the rulebook states, because ‘if a dangerous situation arises then someone else will not have a life jacket’.

China's list of dos and don'ts came in 2013, at the launch of ‘Golden Week’, a public holiday that began on October first.

The handbook also dispensed country-specific advice: Chinese visitors to Germany should only snap their fingers to beckon dogs, not humans. Women in Spain should always wear earrings in public -- or they could be considered effectively naked. Diners in Japan should not play with their clothes or hair during a meal. Tourists are reminded that all air-conditioned places in Hong Kong and Macau are no-smoking areas, and mainlanders should not try to get refunds for food.

One tourist from Guizhou said the new rules provided tourists and locals with a better environment.

THE ETIQUETTE MANIFESTO

Don’t...

• Talk about people behind their backs in Chinese (because someone nearby might understand you).  
• Give a handkerchief in Italy as a gift because it is deemed inauspicious.
• Ask Britons whether they have eaten.
• Touch people's belongings in Nepal with a foot.
• Ask for pork in Islamic countries.
• Call Africans 'Negros' or 'black'.
• Use the left hand to touch other people in India.
• Eat a whole piece of bread in one mouthful or slurp noodles noisily inside an aircraft.

Do...

•  

• Use shower curtains in a hotel.
• Keep quiet when waiting to board a plane.
• Keep mobile phones turned off until the aircraft has come to a complete stop.
• Be punctual if taking part in a tour group.
• Arrive at a banquet hall 15 minutes early and adhere to a formal dress code.

Source: Guidelines on Civilised Travel Abroad, released by China National Tourism Administration

At the time, a 33-year-old tourist visiting Hong Kong from central Anhui province complained that the guidelines were too many and too specific.

'You cannot possibly look through all of the rules before you go travelling.

'Also the rules are different in different places,' he told the South China Morning Post. 'I think it's not very feasible.'

But one tourist from Guizhou said the new rules provided tourists and locals with a better environment.

While several countries have eased visa restrictions to attract affluent Chinese tourists, complaints about etiquette have made international headlines lately.

A Luxor, Egypt site, originally built by Amenhotep III in the 14th century BC and completed by Ramessess II, has been defaced by a Chinese teen.  By carving his name into it in May of 2013, the 15 year old vandalised a 3,500-year-old Egyptian temple relic.  The "Ding Jinhao visited here" in Mandarin, was carved into one of the sandstone carvings. It was then photographed by another Chinese tourist, who posted it on Weibo, accompanied by the comment: "My saddest moment in Egypt. Ashamed and unable to show my face." 

Luxury French fashion Zadig and Voltaire sparked a huge controversy last year by claiming its new 40-room boutique hotel, due to open in 2014, will not be open to Chinese tourists.

In February, a mainland Chinese man reportedly relieved himself in a bottle in a crowded Hong Kong restaurant, sparking anger online and prompting some locals to deride mainlanders as 'locusts'.

Chinese tourists in North Korea have been accused of insensitive behaviour, such as throwing sweets at children ‘like they’re feeding ducks’.

Despite the rulebook, some mainland tourists appear to have retained their own set of standards, however.

Outside Golden Bauhinia Square, one of Hong Kong’s main tour group hotspots, a mother could be seen helping her son urinate into a plastic bag, the Post reported today.

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor of the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia