Spend a day the way people here do

Bring a small gift such as fruit or something from home. Let the eldest start eating first, never stand chopsticks upright in rice, and leave a little in your bowl when you are full or it will be refilled. You can toast with tea instead of baijiu. Tell us about allergies or vegetarian needs when you book.

Dress modestly, step over thresholds rather than on them, and ask before photographing priests or worshippers. Burning incense is optional; ignore anyone selling expensive 'blessing' packages. The Golden Temple's camellia garden flowers roughly January to March.

The ginger wrap feels hot and can leave your skin pink for a while; say so if it's too much. Skip the steam if you are pregnant, have broken skin or a heart condition. Most spas speak no English, so we pass on your booking and preferences in Chinese.

Tea shops in tourist towns are known for hard selling and inflated 'vintage' cakes. This is a tasting, not a shop visit; if you want to buy afterward, your teacher can tell you what a fair price looks like. Pu'er has plenty of caffeine, so a morning or early-afternoon session is best.

Village homes are simple: expect a squat toilet, basic showers and cold mornings in the mountains. Wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty, ask before photographing people, and let the family set the pace. An overnight stay is possible in some villages.

Pork and chive is the classic filling; ask for a vegetarian one when you book. Your first dozen will be lopsided, and nobody minds.

Markets are at their best before 10 a.m. Wet markets are loud, crowded and not always tidy. Your cook can suggest substitutes for ingredients that are hard to find outside China.

The harvest depends on the weather, so dates move from year to year; a smaller autumn picking is also possible. The oldest trees belong to particular families and their leaves are valuable, so pick only where your hosts ask. Jingmai is under three hours by road from Jinghong; guesthouses are simple, and a driver makes the trip far easier.

Yunnan hospitals treat mushroom poisonings every summer. Never eat anything you picked unless an experienced local has checked it and a restaurant cooks it, and never eat jianshouqing (a local bolete) undercooked; it causes hallucinations. Forests belong to villages, so go with a local rather than on your own. Expect mud and an early start.

Tuina is strong and can hurt. Say "qīng yìdiǎn" (lighter, please) when you need to. It's a complement to medical care, not a replacement; mention injuries or pregnancy first.

Treat it as a cultural window, not a diagnosis; it does not replace your own doctor. Tell the practitioner about medications, allergies or pregnancy, since some herbs interact with drugs. You are under no obligation to buy anything, and if someone pushes expensive remedies, walk away.

Chinese hot-spring pools are usually mixed, so bring a swimsuit. Keep each soak to about 20 minutes, drink water, and watch your step on wet stone. Go easy if you have heart or blood-pressure problems.

Salons are small neighborhood businesses with no English; we can book and explain what you'd like. Mention a sensitive scalp, and say no to any add-on treatments you don't want.

Wear loose clothes and flat shoes; tai chi is gentle and suits any age. From about November to March, black-headed gulls winter on Green Lake and feeding them is part of the morning.

No skill needed and nothing to pay; it's a public space. Dancing usually starts once dinner is over, often around 8 p.m. (later in summer), and most groups pack up within an hour or two. Ask before filming individual dancers.

Rules differ from city to city, and from any version you know at home; you learn the local one. We play for points, not money. Give it a few rounds before it clicks.

We treat this as culture and a prompt for reflection, not prediction, and make no claims about accuracy. Be wary of fortune-tellers near temple gates who warn of bad luck and then ask for money to fix it; it's a well-known trick.

Cover shoulders and knees. Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels. Take your shoes off in Dai temple halls, and women should not touch monks or hand them things directly. Don't point your feet at an altar, and ask before photographing monks or the inside of halls.

No Chinese needed, and your teacher can make sure the phrase you choose means what you think it means. Around Lunar New Year, you can write a pair of New Year couplets for your own front door.

Indigo stains your fingers for a day or two. Many shops now use synthetic dyes; ask for a workshop that still dyes with plant indigo if that matters to you. Your piece needs rinsing and drying, so plan to collect it later in the day.

Your piece has to dry and be fired, which takes days. Studios can ship within China, but sending pottery abroad is slow and risky, so buying a finished piece may be the easier souvenir.

Old-town stalls will paint your name in 'Dongba' in two minutes; a session with a teacher is slower and tells you what you are actually writing. Handmade Dongba paper, made from the bark of a local shrub, is a light souvenir.