Since the project consumes quite a bit of time I don’t have any new activities that I can talk about but rather share some observations.

During the personal preparations as well as the official pre-work sessions of the project we have discussed cultural differences between China and our home countries (I am here with people from eight different countries) and how they impact our behavior. In addition to not paying cultural differences into consideration there is also stereotyping and sometimes even plain prejudice that people fall for…

Here some observations:

In Germany a ‘proper’ handshake is considered polite; for some people it even means that the person they have just shaken hands with is trustworthy. In China a ‘proper’ handshake is considered rude. So far, I have only experienced very light handshakes.

Friends, colleagues (one of whom is married to a Chinese and regularly visiting their family) and the media sometimes portray the ‘Chinese’ – a generalization that I hate and usually try to avoid – as rude and impolite. After five days I strongly object. Chinese people whom I have met so far have been pleasant and helpful including our clients, hotel staff, taxi driver, service personnel as well as people on the street who frequently smile.

However not saying ‘no’ or not indicating that something might be ‘wrong’ is indeed a challenge! We are currently revising the scope of work for our project and would highly appreciate some clear feedback and expectations from our clients. This is rather tough and requires some skillful negotiation as keeping the face is the driving principle for our Chinese counterparts. For example: During today’s meeting we were reviewing a document that had been provided by our client. Thus, we assumed that we were all looking at the final version. Not until we were halfway through the document did our client raise its concerns saying that they might not have the final version of the document in front of them….

Last but not least a funny one:

Crossing a street regardless of whether there are traffic lights and/or a crosswalk is an adventure every time. Chinese drivers DO NOT CARE about anything but moving forward as fast as possible. A solid advice: Never try to cross a street by yourself. And if you join a group use your fellow pedestrians as ‘human shield’

I should mention that there are many eight-lane roads in the city that people frequently need to cross….like the one right in front of my hotel.