Differences between Chinese and Westerners – Part 2

Today I want to show you some drawing about food made by Yang Liu to compare Chinese and Westerners.

Meals

No surprise here!

Chinese usually eat hot things three times a day, but we prefer cold breakfast (english custom doesn’t count ) and some of us cold dinner as in my family. But of course it’s a caricature.

Drinks

Ah, we have a huge misunderstanding there! I have never seen as many people drinking Coca-Cola as in China, this was quite surprising for me. It doesn’t mean that tea is not the most representative drink, of course it is! But I think we drink less Coca-Cola in Europe, and even less in France.

In a restaurant

Of course we can say that the main difference is about the cuisine or about flatware, but for me, the most important difference is the feeling inside a dining room. In our society, eating is a very formal action, we have rules and behaviors. We try to avoid the noise and almost whisper to talk to each other. But in China, people don’t mind the noise or the rules. The meal is an important time of the day to relax, discuss about everything and enjoy time with others. In a way, I would say that everyday meals in China are more relaxing and enjoyable than here. But when you have to attend a dinner with some important people, you will feel even more ill at ease than in France, because it is even more formal and thousand miles away from everydray meals.

– Woods

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