Start with the situation in front of you
Check the bill before adding money, ask how shared dishes are served, and follow the rules of the place you are visiting. These habits are more useful than memorising one set of manners for every meal, region or encounter.
For tipping, the clearest guidance reviewed here is Shanghai’s statement that tips are not expected in most restaurants and hotels. That is a useful starting point for those settings, not a national percentage or a promise about every service. Shanghai tourism authority’s FAQ.
This guide covers everyday mainland travel, with Beijing and Shanghai as the main contexts. Chinese and English sources were reviewed on 18 October 2026. It has not tested a restaurant’s charges, a guide’s terms or anyone’s reaction to a tip. Etiquette advice, a provider’s agreement and a venue rule answer different questions.
At the bill: separate the charge from the thank-you
First establish the amount owed for what you ordered. A service charge — 服务费 listed by the business is a bill item to check; a tip — 小费 is an additional expression of thanks. Do not assume that one label explains the other, or that a payment screen means you must add a percentage.
Shanghai’s FAQ says some establishments add service charges while most restaurants and hotels do not expect tips. Check the actual menu, booking and itemised bill. For an ordinary meal in that context, you do not need to invent a standard gratuity calculation. If you want to offer extra thanks, ask whether the business or staff accept it and respect the answer.
A February 2026 Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei consumer advisory specifically recommends asking about service, tea-seat and packing charges before ordering and keeping the records. It supports checking those items; it does not establish a single rate or decide whether a disputed charge in your case is lawful. Chinese regional consumer guidance.
For a private guide, driver, porter or other specifically booked service, ask the provider what the quoted price includes and whether any gratuity is optional or appears in the agreed terms. This review has not established a nationwide expectation or amount for those services. Clarify an unexpected request through the booking provider rather than guessing from another traveller’s arrangement.
Keep regional advice separate. Hong Kong Tourism Board’s dining-charge guidance describes a different restaurant service-charge pattern. Use local guidance for that part of a trip; do not transfer a Hong Kong bill convention to Beijing or Shanghai.
Once the bill is clear, use the payment guide to check the recipient, amount and completed transaction. Merchant charges, optional thanks and any app or issuer fees need their own checks.
At a shared meal: ask about the table, not a stereotype
In an ordinary restaurant, ask staff where to sit if the arrangement is unclear. At a hosted formal meal, let the host indicate seats. The Shanghai-hosted table-manners feature discusses formal banquet seating; it is not a seating formula you need to impose on a casual lunch.
For shared dishes, identify 公筷 — serving chopsticks or 公勺 — a serving spoon. Use them to transfer food to your own dish, and keep them out of your mouth. Ask which utensils are communal rather than relying on their colour. The English feature describes one black-and-white arrangement; the Chinese Xiongan initiative promotes communal utensils more generally. Neither proves what every restaurant supplies.
Rest chopsticks on a rest or suitable surface rather than sticking them upright in food. If chopsticks are difficult for you, ask for another utensil. Order manageable portions and add more if needed; the domestic visitor civility guidance encourages avoiding food waste.
For a hosted meal, clarify who is paying instead of turning a social gesture into a contest at the cashier. You can thank the host without assuming every gathering follows a fixed bill-paying ritual.
Your dietary needs and decision about alcohol still matter. Explain a restriction before food is ordered; a toast is not a reason to abandon it. Use the ordering and dietary guide for specific ingredient questions. Serving utensils do not establish that a meal meets an allergy requirement.
In public spaces: leave room for other people
Queue in the marked area, keep entrances and paths clear, and lower your voice where others are listening, resting or viewing an exhibit. Follow staff directions if the queue or route changes.
Ask before making someone the subject of your photograph, and accept a refusal. A visitor posing for another person is not permission for you to photograph them too. These are practical ways to apply the Chinese visitor guidance’s requests to respect others, avoid forced photographs and keep public order. That document is a civility code, not a list of penalties. Published Chinese guidance.
At museums and religious sites: read the local instructions
Check signs at the entrance and again inside individual rooms. Permission to enter a site does not settle photography, flash, tripods, touching objects or access to every space.
For example, the Palace Museum’s Chinese visitor instructions prohibit flash and tripods in galleries and require visitors to observe no-photography notices. That is a venue-specific example, not a rule for every museum in China. Use the attraction guide to prepare the correct visit and entrance.
At a religious or community site, ask staff about dress, photography and areas open to visitors before joining an activity or entering an uncertain space. Respect worshippers’ use of the place. This guide does not claim that all temples, mosques, monasteries or communities share one dress code or set of customs.
When uncertain: ask one clear question
State the practical issue, show the relevant menu line or booking, and give the other person time to respond. A short translated question can be easier to resolve than a long explanation.
These are editorial teaching examples, not official translations or a guarantee of an answer:
Is the service charge already included?
请问已经包含服务费了吗？
Could I have serving chopsticks, please?
请给我一双公筷。
May I take photographs here?
请问这里可以拍照吗？
I do not drink alcohol. Thank you for understanding.
我不喝酒，谢谢理解。
If a bill remains unclear, ask for the itemised detail and a responsible staff member or your booking provider. Keep the order and payment record. Do not infer someone’s intent from a language misunderstanding.
For an unresolved service problem or an urgent situation, use getting help in China to choose the appropriate channel. Courtesy does not require accepting an unexplained charge or delaying urgent assistance.