A gift is necessary whenone is invited to visit friends in China. After greetings, the gift should bepassed immediately to the host. Remember that usually Chinese people will notopen the gift in front of the person who gives1.To show the respect, it may be2 to explain what the gift is. Bringing somenutrients and tonics (营养品、补品) to the elders in the family is a goodidea. You can3prepare some small gifts for the spouse (配偶) or kids of the host. The host usually makes full4by carefully tidying up the house and5 alot of delicious dishes.6themeal is well prepared, the host may say to the guest politely, "Mypreparation is not enough, please excuse me for my poor treat. " As aguest, you should make the host believe that there is plenty to eat by praisingthe food.
While eating, the elderswill use chopsticks to7foodfor guests as a tradition and ask them to eat8.As a guest, you should accept their goodwill readily. But nowadays, the youngerpeople do the traditional way less.
After dinner, tea andfruit are usually served. When the guests are to leave, the host may stillpolitely ask them to stay. They don't have totake it9 and they can try to find a good time to leave.This doesn't mean that leaving early is alwaysa good idea as the host may feel that the guests are not satisfied with thetreat. Finding the right time to leave10thesituation.
