With CPEC at its developing phase, the importance of learning Chinese language has seen an up-word trend here in Pakistan, as engagement between the people of both nations increases. Whilst learning Chinese language one gets familiar with the culture and daily practices of citizens of the People’s Republic of China; which has led them to take the helm being an economic power taking over the USA and the Western democracies. Let’s look into six of the most daily practiced habits of Chinese people that stand them out against the rest of the world.

People in China commonly drink hot water instead of cold, rest after lunch, eat dinner around 6 pm and shade themselves from the sun. Park exercise is mostly an older generation’s habit, and many young adults sleep late. Below is the reason behind each, with the Mandarin words.

Chinse Habits In Short

• Hot water: rooted in traditional Chinese medicine and in the old safety of boiled water
• Lunch nap: common in offices and schools, though hours vary by sector.
• Morning exercise: mostly retirees, in parks
• Dinner: usually 6 to 7 pm, and the main family meal
• Sun avoidance: tied to an old class signal, and still common among women
• Sleep: not early. Surveys put bedtime after 11 pm

Ask for water in a Chinese restaurant and it will usually arrive hot, even in July. Train stations, offices and airports have boiling-water dispensers, and many people carry an insulated cup, a 保温杯 (bǎowēnbēi), everywhere.

Two reasons sit behind it. The first is safety: boiling was the easiest way to make water safe to drink, and from 1952 public health campaigns pushed people toward warm water. The second is traditional Chinese medicine, which sees the body as a balance of yin and yang and treats cold drinks as a strain on it. The Huangdi Neijing (黄帝内经), a medical text more than 2,000 years old, is often cited for this Goldthread.

Hot water hydrates like any other water. The idea that it cures illness is a cultural belief, not a proven medical fact. It does explain why a Chinese friend answers almost any complaint the same way: 多喝热水 (duō hē rèshuǐ), “drink more hot water.” Many Pakistani households will recognise the habit, since warm water with honey for a sore throat is a familiar home remedy.

Say it in Mandarin: 热水 rèshuǐ (hot water) · 白开水 báikāishuǐ (plain boiled water) · 保温杯 bǎowēnbēi (insulated cup)

多喝热水。Duō hē rèshuǐ. Drink more hot water.

In many offices and nearly all schools, yes. The lunch break, 午休 (wǔxiū), often runs from about 11:30 am until 1:30 or 2 pm. One former employee of a large Chinese company describes the whole office dimming its lights while staff unfolded camp beds and blankets for a 午睡 (wǔshuì), an afternoon nap (LTL). A journalist with 15 years in Chinese offices writes in Foreign Policy that public-sector workplaces treat a two-hour lunch as untouchable, while some private firms dim the lights or set up nap rooms (Foreign Policy). So the habit is real, but it depends on the sector and the employer.

It was not always respectable. In the Analects, Confucius scolds a student for dozing in the daytime, and a daytime nap was long seen as a luxury of the idle. Western school models in the early 20th century presented rest as healthy, and attitudes shifted. China’s constitution now protects workers’ right to rest (The World of Chinese).

Pakistan has its own version in the qailula (قیلولہ), the short midday rest. The difference is that in China it is built into the working day. A practical tip: do not book a meeting during 午休 unless you want to be remembered for the wrong reason.

Say it in Mandarin: 午休 wǔxiū (lunch break, noon rest) · 午睡 wǔshuì (afternoon nap) · 休息 xiūxi (to rest)

我要午休一会儿。Wǒ yào wǔxiū yíhuìr. I’m going to rest for a while at noon.

Walk through a Chinese city park early in the morning and you will see tai chi, fan and sword routines, stretching and chess. The people doing it are mostly retirees and older adults. An AFP report describes a 51-year-old retiree in Beijing who trains almost every morning with other retirees in the square in front of the Drum Tower, practising tai chi with swords and fans (AFP via Yahoo News). In the evening the same squares fill with 广场舞 (guǎngchǎngwǔ), group dancing, mostly by women.

So “Chinese people wake at dawn to exercise” is only half true. Older people do. Younger people are more likely to use a gym, or to sleep in.

Say it in Mandarin: 晨练 chénliàn (morning exercise) · 太极拳 tàijíquán (tai chi) · 广场舞 guǎngchǎngwǔ (square dancing)

爷爷每天早上去公园晨练。Yéye měitiān zǎoshang qù gōngyuán chénliàn. Grandpa goes to the park to exercise every morning.

It was not always respectable. In the Analects, Confucius scolds a student for dozing in the daytime, and a daytime nap was long seen as a luxury of the idle. Western school models in the early 20th century presented rest as healthy, and attitudes shifted. China’s constitution now protects workers’ right to rest (The World of Chinese).

Pakistan has its own version in the qailula (قیلولہ), the short midday rest. The difference is that in China it is built into the working day. A practical tip: do not book a meeting during 午休 unless you want to be remembered for the wrong reason.

Say it in Mandarin: 午休 wǔxiū (lunch break, noon rest) · 午睡 wǔshuì (afternoon nap) · 休息 xiūxi (to rest)

我要午休一会儿。Wǒ yào wǔxiū yíhuìr. I’m going to rest for a while at noon.

Earlier than in many Pakistani homes. People usually reach home around 6 pm, and restaurants are busiest from 7 pm (China Highlights). For many families dinner is the most important meal of the day, so it is hearty and shared with the family. Lunch usually falls around noon, which fits the 午休 routine above.

Two words are worth separating. 晚饭 (wǎnfàn) is everyday dinner. 晚餐 (wǎncān) sounds slightly more formal and appears on menus and hotel signs (HSK Lord).

Say it in Mandarin: 晚饭 wǎnfàn (dinner) · 晚餐 wǎncān (dinner, more formal) · 开饭 kāifàn (the meal is served)

你吃晚饭了吗？Nǐ chī wǎnfàn le ma? Have you eaten dinner yet?

Because many people, especially women, want to avoid a tan. Pale skin has long signalled a life spent indoors, while dark skin signalled outdoor farm work (Asia Society). That old signal sits behind the umbrellas, sun visors and shelves of whitening creams. In one interview study, Chinese women preferred lighter skin and used more sun protection than Chinese women raised in Western culture (Penn State research).

Shade and sunscreen do protect skin, whatever the reason. The beauty ideal behind them is a separate and debated question, and readers in South Asia will know the same conversation about fairness products.

Say it in Mandarin: 防晒 fángshài (sun protection) · 打伞 dǎ sǎn (to hold up an umbrella) · 遮阳伞 zhēyángsǎn (parasol)

今天太阳很大，记得打伞。Jīntiān tàiyáng hěn dà, jìde dǎ sǎn. The sun is strong today, remember to take an umbrella.

Not on average, and this is where the old advice gets it wrong. A 2025 survey built on data from more than 150,000 wearable devices put the national average bedtime at 12:18 am, 17 minutes later than a year earlier (China Daily). A separate 2025 survey by the Chinese Sleep Research Society and China’s CDC found adults fall asleep at about 11:15 pm, with around half of younger people awake past midnight (The Borneo Post). The methods differ, but both land after 11 pm.

The gap between generations is wide. A 2024 report found people born after 2000 fall asleep around 12:30 am, against 11:02 pm for people born in the 1970s (China Daily via Asia News Network). Young people even have a phrase for staying up late to win back some personal time after a packed day: 报复性熬夜 (bàofùxìng áoyè), “revenge bedtime procrastination.” The same article quotes a doctor who suggests a nap of about 40 minutes for anyone who slept late, which fits the midday rest in habit 2.

Say it in Mandarin: 熬夜 áoyè (to stay up late) · 早睡早起 zǎo shuì zǎo qǐ (early to bed, early to rise) · 报复性熬夜 bàofùxìng áoyè (revenge bedtime procrastination)

他昨晚又熬夜了。Tā zuówǎn yòu áoyè le. He stayed up late again last night.