Do you drink hot water instead of ice cold water? One common habit in China is that people drink hot water instead of cold water as it helps with digestion and body temperature! Read on to find out more habits.
1. Leaving shoes at the door
In China when you enter your own house or someone else's house. It is a tradition to take your shoes off and leave them at the door. The host would normally have house slippers for you. This is because, during ancient times they would sit on the floor indoors. Therefore, taking off your shoes at the door would ensure that your clothes won't get dirty when you sit down.
2. Using a cup when brushing teeth
In China you may see cups in bathrooms. That's because when we brush our teeth, we use a cup to hold water to rinse our mouth. It also helps with conserving water!
3. Bathing at night
The Chinese tend to take a shower or bath before going to bed at night rather than in the morning. The reason is because they want to go to sleep in a clean bed.
4. Laying out newspaper on the table when dining
This habit is not as common nowadays but when eating, you'll see newspapers or other types of scrap paper being laid out on the table. These papers are used to put any food residue on such as chicken bones or shells. The newspaper absorbs any grease from the foods and keeps the table clean as you are able to dispose of it afterwards.
5. Drying clothes on a drying rack
In China, people normally dry their clothes on a drying rack or anywhere they can hang outside. Dryer machines require energy to run so people see more value in using a free drying source such as the sun.
6. Washing dishes by hand
One reason why Chinese people wash dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher is to conserve energy. Another reason is that there is distrust that dishwashers actually do the job of cleaning the dishes well. The distrust is due to Chinese food being quite oily and the dishes need a good hand scrubbing to get the grease off.
7. Drinking hot water
This may be the most surprising habit as people normally like to drink ice cool water. In China, people drink hot water to keep their body temperature balanced and help digestion.
Watch our video below to learn more:
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