How to make a good first impression in Asia

by Jordan Rane

Any traveler who believes that good behavior is a universal language has never given the “OK” sign in Turkey, patted a child’s head in Bhutan or noticed just how widely etiquette codes can vary around the world. 

So how do you greet, chat, dine and imbibe with new business contacts in Asia, where one guest’s polite belch is another’s tableside blasphemy? 

Making a good first impression in the following seven places may require some grueling firsthand experience, but here’s what to know before you bow. 

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel knows, a simple handshake will suffice when meeting someone in China. “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” -- Chinese Proverb 

It’s doubtful this adage refers to the trials foreigners in China with poor name recognition and limited drinking skills face when becoming a polished practitioner of keqi (good “guest behavior”). But it might.