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have had financial success will even take their entire office
on longer trips, some as far away as Thailand.
Women
There is a strong sense of balance between men and women
in China. There is a lovely Chinese expression that says
that women hold up half the sky. Traditionally, Chinese are
respectful and courteous toward woman. One of the most
powerful figures in Chinese government is a woman, Madam
Wu Yi.
There are parts of China where women hold dominant
social position. In Shanghai, the man is the better housekeeper
and cook, while the woman manages the money. There is
even a functioning matriarchal village in Yunnan, where the
women own all possessions and men stay with them at their
wish, or return to the house of their mother.
That said, there is a strong sense of gender roles between
men and women in China. It is sincerely thought that they
balance one another out with gender-specific characteristics.
At one point when a row of women were sitting together
in work cubicles and new male employees were joining,
the women insisted that the man sit in between them as
alternating male and female is ‘strengthening the flower, like
a rose blossoming between thorns’.
Foreign woman are unlikely to be harassed or badly
treated in most of China. Muslim customs in Xinjaing create
some sensitivities toward dress, especially in mosques.
Women travelling in this region should be aware and
dress accordingly.
Racism
Although Chinese profess to not be racist, discrimination
exists on many levels. The Chinese are proud people—proud
of 5,000 years of continual civilisation, proud of the purity of
Han blood, and proud of the role their country has played in
world civilisation. The Chinese believe that their country sits
directly in the middle of the map of the world.
Given this reference point, there are a number of biases
that emerge. Anyone that does not have pure Han blood
