The Asian continents consist of 48 countries around the world ,all these countries are situated in different parts of the continents. According to the United Nation statistics, the Asian continent is divide into 5 sub-regions. They comprises the Eastern Asian, Western Asian, Southern Asian, Central Asian, and the South Eastern Asian.
The total number of countries that fall into the Asian continents, have differ in culture, They all have different, traditions, norms, values, food, speak different languages, dress differently and their belief differs as well.
The video below shows some common Asian dressing and culture
The uniqueness in Chinese cultural values.
1 Ethnic groups in China
China belongs to the Eastern Asia, its total population is 1,454,717,042, its population is equal to 18.4% of the world population. China has 56 minority ethnic groups,
The largest ethnic group is the Han Chinese, with about 900 million people. Other groups include the Tibetans, the Mongols, the Manchus, the Naxi, and the Hezhen, which is smallest group, with fewer than 2,000 people.
Currently, there are only five official religions, they are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism.
2 Languages
Also there are seven major languages in China, they are the Mandarin, WU, Yue, Xiang, Min, Hakka, and Gan. respectively. mandarin is the most dominant language, spoken by majority in China. and the least is Gan.
An event promoting tourism in E China's #Shandong province was recently held in China Cultural Center in Madrid https://t.co/MFo9Rh3kpV pic.twitter.com/fXFTgjsFDv
— China Culture (@Chinacultureorg) May 12, 2023
This video give full details of China tea
Living Heritage: Tea
— China Culture (@Chinacultureorg) April 4, 2023
China is known as the home of #tea. Since ancient times, tea has penetrated #Chineseculture, leaving its aroma in poetry, etiquette and customs. https://t.co/pW6GabhIGe pic.twitter.com/KPxy8vPMF5
3 Food
China traditional food creates great identity about its culture as well. most of Chinese dishes are colourful and compromises different nutritional values. some of their food include: Chofan (fried rice), Peking Duck (běijīng Kǎoyā), Stinky Tofu (chòudòufu), Chow Mein,Congee (báizhōu), and many others.
4 Dressing
In dressing, China’s way of dressing is really beautiful and stands out , they have 4 major traditional dressing some are as follows:
The Hanfu (‘Han clothing’ — the majority of Chinese are of Han ethnicity) is the oldest of China’s traditional clothes. it existence for over 4000 years has made it became the clothing for the ruling class, and the national clothing of the Han ethnic people. It also had a far-reaching influence on neighbouring Asian countries, such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
The cheongsam (qipao) evolved from the Manchu women’s changpao ‘long gown’. then the last is the Tang suit often refers to a type of Chinese jacket rather than the clothing of the Tang Dynasty. Traditional Tang suits, based on the Magua of the Manchu ethnicity, usually have Chinese characters on them to express good luck. The fourth is the The Zhongshan suit, also known as the Mao suit overseas.
5 Greetings
Greeting in China have some variations and must conform to their tradition as well. and must conform to this steps below:
- In formal situations, people bow slightly or nod politely to greet one another formally. The bow is from the shoulders and should be greater if the person you are greeting has a higher status than you.
- If seated, the Chinese will stand up out of respect when they are introduced to someone.
- Always greet those that are older than you first.
- Use a person’s family name and appropriate title to address them unless they have indicated that you can move on to addressing them on a first-name basis.
Also when greeting in China you are expected to add a title to show respect, for example, Wang Lao Shi meaning teacher Wang, Lao LI which means elder Li, showing the person is older than you. Chinese say hello in their language, Ni hao meaning hello/hi. and so many other ways of greeting in Chinese language which are more than 20.
The video below explains the root and richness in Chinese culture.
