Leur objectif est de tisser un lien avec les étudiants français désireux d'effectuer leur échange universitaire ou d'effectuer un stage en Chine. Elle souhaitent faire découvrir la culture chinoise et accompagner au mieux les étudiants dans leur expatriation.
Comparison between Chinese and French culture
There is a Chinese proverb which says that "The fish did not discover water." Similarly no one discovers culture by staying at home. As a Chinese exchange student in France, it is easy for me to find the differences between Chinese culture and French culture; so it is for the French students who study in China. Meanwhile, knowing the differences in advance is a good way to learn about foreign culture and can also help us to better adapt to the foreign life.
Firstly, in general, Chinese people often get up early at about 7am, and the lunch time begins at 11am, while the dinner time begins at around 6pm. Also, Chinese people go to bed early and they seldom hold parties. However, many young people and workaholics don’t comply with the above schedule.
Secondly, you can find that in China some people like spitting, especially in the rural areas. Furthermore, in some transports like buses, metros, trains, etc, people are used to jostling each other and speaking loudly, and some even stare at foreign people whose appearances are totally different. French people would be upset and uncomfortable when others get too close, because they emphasize much on private space; in comparison, Chinese people show little respect on this aspect, and maybe the huge population is part of the reason.
With regard to parenting, there is a big difference between Chinese family and French family. In France, when I travel or visit some places of entertainment, I always find that many parents like to take their children together, even infants who are only a few months. This kind of teaching mode is far more interesting than the rigid one in China. Chinese parents are more ambitious and they expect their children to succeed in the future, so they force them to study a lot in order to achieve as much knowledge as possible.
In the deep of Chinese culture, firstly it is obligatory to know “guan xi”, which means relationship. The “guan xi” is the social comportment for having all the social relations in China. For example, Chinese people are used to proposing cigarettes to each other, and it is not polite to refuse this proposition. Generally, when you encounter a stranger, one respectful sign would be systematically proposing cigarettes. When people drink together, if the person wants to drink with another by saying “gan bei”, another person has no choice but to drink all in his cup, otherwise it is a kind of disrespect, and this is opposite against the French culture. Moreover, If a Chinese says “yes” when you ask him something, make sure that he has understood very well or he is capable to do that thing. Because Chinese people do not like being destabilized, and they prefer respond “yes” even if they can’t do it or they do not understand, which is called “do not lose face” in Chinese culture.
Another interesting thing I want to mention here is the different meanings of the numbers in China. The number four in China means bad thing, and it has the same pronunciation with the word “death”; contrarily, the number eight means happiness and richness in China, therefore, in the normal case, the apartment in eighth floor could cost more than any other floors, and if you are looking for a SIM card which contains some eights, you would pay much more to have this mobile number.
From “Chinese Living” pro-act group
What is a typical meal for people in China?
Rice and Noodle are the staple diets
Grains are the main foods in China. In the South of China, people eat rice daily. But people who live in the north prefer wheat. With the wheat they make steamed buns and noodles. Corn, millet, and sorghum are often eaten. Chinese people “love” rice or noodles just like French people “love” baguette. Generally speaking, there will be at least one meal with rice in a day for Chinese people, or in some regions in China, people will do it more than one meal.
Breakfast
Chinese breakfasts vary greatly between different regions. In Central and Eastern China, such as Shanghai, typical breakfast consists of plain rice porridge served with numerous side dishes such as salted duck eggs, pickled vegetables.
In Northern China, breakfast typically includes steamed breads (mantou), steamed buns with meat or vegetable stuffing (baozoi), soy milk or tea served in Chinese style as beverages.
Lunch
In some area, lunch is considered as the most important meal in a day. Many Chinese lunches consist of noodles or rice prepared with vegetables, tofu, or meat, which is usually pork or chicken.
Generally, lunch is usually consists of one main “dish” rice and variety of side dishes, anything from Hot Pot (soup like dish that YOU throw different vegetables, meat and fish in and cook at the table yourself), to meat, fish, rice, vegetables, etc. Meat is used more for flavor and texture then as a main course like in the USA or other western country.
Dinner
Normally, Chinese people do not eat too much in dinner. People are well following the old saying “Eat like a King in the morning, a Prince at noon, and a Pauper at night.”
The ideal "supper" always includes a healthy soup. As my grandmother used to always say, "A meal is never complete without a soup." cook some kind of soup that is tailored for maintaining the family members' health, such as vegetable soups for cleansing our digestive systems.
In some areas, people choose to eat porridge and noodle soup in supper which are easy to digest and good for health.
Recreation of Chinese Students
In different countries, life in universities will be different according to the culture and lifestyles. As we can see in Marseille a lot of European students like to go to party or bar on Wednesday evening or weekends. But Chinese students seldom do that. So, what kind of activities do Chinese students like to do during their leisure time? Let me give you a brief introduction.
KTV- the most popular recreation
KTV is the abbreviation of “karaoke television”, also known as Karaoke box. It is a place consisting of multiple rooms with karaoke equipment, usually rented out for time periods. People can sing in KTV and enjoy their time. You can find almost all the popular songs in KTV and sing it with your friends. In KTV, no one will care about your ability to sing, but enjoy the time to sing together and stay with friends. In big cities now, we can also find popular English or French songs in KTV that foreign students can try.
As Chinese people like to spend time together, KTV offers a place for a group of people to sing, chat and eat, even celebrate birthday. It is especially popular among young people. So for us students, go to a KTV is the most common recreation. And as the price varies with the renting period, students tend to go to KTV after 12 o’clock in the evening to sing all night as the rent after 12pm is the cheapest.
Board Games –new trend among young people
Teenagers and 20-somethings are cutting back on cyberspace to spend more time playing card and board role-playing games. In China, German-style board game is most famous. And as the increasing interest of board games among Chinese young people, more and more interesting games emerge. Apart from several traditional games, such as mahjong, Chinese chess, the game of go, we also have several new games, which are really popular now, such as killers of the three kingdoms/Sanguosha, UNO, Werewolf and so on.
We can play board games at home or in café by bringing our own cards, but also can go to a board game studio to play more complicated games. This activity brings people together and has a lot of fun. So, more and more students like to play board games when they are free.
Watch movies
It is also popular for students to go to the cinema to watch movies. In China, you can watch movies in half price if you are a student. So when some new films come out, we will go to the cinema with our friends.
Sports and computer games
For male students in China, they like to play sports and computer games in their spare time. Basketball is the most famous sports among them, and football takes the second place maybe. You can also play table tennis, tennis and badminton on campus. Normally, every school will offer the place and equipment for students to play these sports.
Besides, another most important part of their life is computer game. In China, StarCraft, WarCraft, Diablo, World of Warcraft, DotA, CS, Pro Evolution Soccer, FIFA, CrossFire, Popkart are the most popular computer games.
Apart from these activities, we Chinese students also love to travel, go to the bar, drink teas with friends etc…although it is different from French students’ life, we also can share some similar experience with each other. So, Hope this article could help you to meet more Chinese friends and enjoy the life in China.
From “Chinese Living” pro-act groupZhoudan LU
Chinese sping festival
Chinese spring festival, which is also known as Chinese New Year, starts with the New Moon on the first day of first month of the Lunar Calendar and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29 days so we insert an extra month once every few years to catch up with the solar calendar. This is the same as adding an extra day on a leap year which explains why the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year according to the western calendar.
We have a 15-day celebration of spring festival. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration is traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of the gods of the household and the family ancestors. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect, as they are believed to be responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family. The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community.
During the spring festival, homes are decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets and we purchase new clothing, shoes, and get a hair-cut to symbolize a fresh start. In addition, tradition New Year’s food is also very delicate. Probably more food is consumed during the New Year celebrations than any other time of the year. Vast amounts of traditional food are prepared for family and friends.
On New Year's Day, the Chinese family will eat a whole fish, to represent togetherness and abundance, and a chicken for prosperity. The chicken must be presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize completeness. Noodles should be uncut, as they represent long life.
In south China, the favorite and most typical dishes were nian gao, sweet steamed glutinous rice pudding and zong zi (glutinous rice wrapped up in reed leaves), another popular delicacy. In the north, steamed-wheat bread and small meat dumplings were the preferred food. The tremendous amount of food prepared at this time was meant to symbolize abundance and wealth for the household.
The ideal "supper" always includes a healthy soup. As my grandmother used to always say, "A meal is never complete without a soup." cook some kind of soup that is tailored for maintaining the family members' health, such as vegetable soups for cleansing our digestive systems.
In some areas, people choose to eat porridge and noodle soup in supper which are easy to digest and good for health.
Recreation of Chinese Students
In different countries, life in universities will be different according to the culture and lifestyles. As we can see in Marseille a lot of European students like to go to party or bar on Wednesday evening or weekends. But Chinese students seldom do that. So, what kind of activities do Chinese students like to do during their leisure time? Let me give you a brief introduction.
KTV- the most popular recreation
KTV is the abbreviation of “karaoke television”, also known as Karaoke box. It is a place consisting of multiple rooms with karaoke equipment, usually rented out for time periods. People can sing in KTV and enjoy their time. You can find almost all the popular songs in KTV and sing it with your friends. In KTV, no one will care about your ability to sing, but enjoy the time to sing together and stay with friends. In big cities now, we can also find popular English or French songs in KTV that foreign students can try.
As Chinese people like to spend time together, KTV offers a place for a group of people to sing, chat and eat, even celebrate birthday. It is especially popular among young people. So for us students, go to a KTV is the most common recreation. And as the price varies with the renting period, students tend to go to KTV after 12 o’clock in the evening to sing all night as the rent after 12pm is the cheapest.
Board Games –new trend among young people
Teenagers and 20-somethings are cutting back on cyberspace to spend more time playing card and board role-playing games. In China, German-style board game is most famous. And as the increasing interest of board games among Chinese young people, more and more interesting games emerge. Apart from several traditional games, such as mahjong, Chinese chess, the game of go, we also have several new games, which are really popular now, such as killers of the three kingdoms/Sanguosha, UNO, Werewolf and so on.
We can play board games at home or in café by bringing our own cards, but also can go to a board game studio to play more complicated games. This activity brings people together and has a lot of fun. So, more and more students like to play board games when they are free.
Watch movies
It is also popular for students to go to the cinema to watch movies. In China, you can watch movies in half price if you are a student. So when some new films come out, we will go to the cinema with our friends.
Sports and computer games
For male students in China, they like to play sports and computer games in their spare time. Basketball is the most famous sports among them, and football takes the second place maybe. You can also play table tennis, tennis and badminton on campus. Normally, every school will offer the place and equipment for students to play these sports.
Besides, another most important part of their life is computer game. In China, StarCraft, WarCraft, Diablo, World of Warcraft, DotA, CS, Pro Evolution Soccer, FIFA, CrossFire, Popkart are the most popular computer games.
Apart from these activities, we Chinese students also love to travel, go to the bar, drink teas with friends etc…although it is different from French students’ life, we also can share some similar experience with each other. So, Hope this article could help you to meet more Chinese friends and enjoy the life in China.
From “Chinese Living” pro-act groupZhoudan LU
Chinese sping festival
Chinese spring festival, which is also known as Chinese New Year, starts with the New Moon on the first day of first month of the Lunar Calendar and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29 days so we insert an extra month once every few years to catch up with the solar calendar. This is the same as adding an extra day on a leap year which explains why the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year according to the western calendar.
We have a 15-day celebration of spring festival. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration is traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of the gods of the household and the family ancestors. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect, as they are believed to be responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family. The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community.
During the spring festival, homes are decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets and we purchase new clothing, shoes, and get a hair-cut to symbolize a fresh start. In addition, tradition New Year’s food is also very delicate. Probably more food is consumed during the New Year celebrations than any other time of the year. Vast amounts of traditional food are prepared for family and friends.
On New Year's Day, the Chinese family will eat a whole fish, to represent togetherness and abundance, and a chicken for prosperity. The chicken must be presented with a head, tail and feet to symbolize completeness. Noodles should be uncut, as they represent long life.
In south China, the favorite and most typical dishes were nian gao, sweet steamed glutinous rice pudding and zong zi (glutinous rice wrapped up in reed leaves), another popular delicacy. In the north, steamed-wheat bread and small meat dumplings were the preferred food. The tremendous amount of food prepared at this time was meant to symbolize abundance and wealth for the household.