Hangzhou Etiquette Tips for Travelers
Hangzhou is an easy city to get etiquette wrong in without ever being told, since most locals are too polite to correct a visitor directly. A few habits go a long way, especially around temples, tea, and meals.
Temples: Lingyin and Feilai Feng
Dress modestly, shoulders and knees covered, when visiting Lingyin Temple. Since entry now runs on a timed reservation booked through Alipay or WeChat, you’ll already be committed to a specific slot, so plan your outfit before you book rather than discovering the dress code at the gate. Keep your voice down inside the halls, don’t touch statues or carvings, including the rock carvings at Feilai Feng, and ask before photographing monks or anyone actively praying.
Greetings and general interactions
A nod or a light handshake covers most situations; you don’t need to bow. Use both hands when handing over or receiving something, a business card, a ticket, a gift, it reads as more respectful than a one-handed pass. Public displays of affection are uncommon and mildly conspicuous in a way they aren’t in much of the West, so keep it low-key.
Chopsticks and the table
Hold chopsticks in one hand, don’t stab food with them, and never leave them standing upright in a bowl of rice, that specifically echoes incense at a funeral and reads as a bad-luck gesture rather than just poor manners. Rest them on the chopstick rest or across the plate between bites instead. If you’re drinking tea, particularly during a Longjing tasting in one of the tea villages, sip rather than draining the cup in one go, and use both hands to receive a poured cup as a small sign of thanks.
Gift-giving
Small gifts, tea, local snacks, something from home, are a nice gesture if you’re visiting a local family or being hosted for a meal. Avoid clocks as gifts specifically, the phrase for “giving a clock” sounds like a phrase associated with death in Mandarin, and it’s a well-known cultural landmine. Give and receive gifts with both hands, and don’t be surprised if the recipient sets it aside unopened, opening a gift immediately in front of the giver isn’t the norm the way it is in some Western cultures.
Tipping and bargaining
Tipping isn’t expected at restaurants or for taxis and DiDi rides, and attempting to leave one sometimes causes more confusion than goodwill. Bargaining is normal at markets and souvenir stalls, less so anywhere with posted prices, a supermarket, a chain store, a museum ticket counter, where it isn’t part of the transaction at all.
The basics that make everything easier
Learn a handful of Mandarin phrases, “nǐ hǎo” (hello), “xiè xiè” (thank you), “duì bù qǐ” (sorry/excuse me), and keep a translation app on your phone for anything more complicated. Carry tissue or hand sanitizer, public restrooms don’t always stock paper.
Read more: our travel tips guide covers the practical side, payment, visas, and the internet situation, and the full Hangzhou guide ties it all into a single trip plan.