Most importers know that the Chinese New Year can wreak havoc on your China supply chain. Also known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year starts on the 2nd full moon after the winter solstice. This is a 15-day holiday celebrated by 1/6 of the world population or...
As we all know, Christmas and Thanksgiving in the U.S. can cause delays in business due to scheduled closures. But did you also plan for possible delays due to holidays observed in China? Understanding how these holidays affect exports is essential for anyone involved in supply chain management in China....
Happy Year of the Ox! Is your Niu Year off to a good start? First off, a Chinese lesson! No, we haven’t forgotten how to spell… In Chinese, the character for Ox is 牛. This character is pronounced niú in Mandarin, which sounds similar to “new” in English. Thus, Happy...
In the US, we celebrate the New Year on January 1st, with festivities on the eve of the new year. We all get together, throw parties, pour champagne, count down to midnight and take part in our own traditions. There are all kinds of traditionsthatmake us happy,bring good luck and...
I had already spent a few days in Beijing before getting my first approach to Chinese medicine. It happened when I was walking through Wangfujin’s cold winter street with a friend who has been living for six years in this country. After an exhausting shopping afternoon, he told me: “Let’s...
Anyone who has ever visited China has most likely been surprised in some way, either positive or negative. This is not only due to the differences in culture, work ethics or the way of living, but mainly due to the fact that China evolved from a lot of traditions that...
Legends and mythology are a big part of Chinese culture, especially in relation to the Chinese Zodiac (生肖 in Chinese). The 12 animals that appear on the Chinese Zodiac calendar include the rat, buffalo, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. It’s an unusual combination of...
About the Holidays A major complaint and hurdle that foreign companies encounter with China manufacturing and China Sourcing is delays of final delivery dates. It is not unusual for a delivery to end up being made 2 weeks later than expected by the buyer. However, most of these delays are...