7 Local Customs and Etiquette Rules You Need to Know in Hong Kong - Top Behaviour Norms and Rules on Conduct that are Pr

Although it may be acceptable to hug or exchange kisses on the cheek upon meeting someone for the first time, it is too affectionate of a greeting according to Hong Kong culture. Owing to its Chinese roots, residents of Hong Kong are not comfortable with physical displays of affection and would rather resort to a handshake or a bow upon meeting someone. This not only applies in settings where one is meeting the friend of a friend or a colleague but also at corporate events. Those who are holidaying in Hong Kong, however, need not fear being demonstratively affectionate with their own loved ones as it is less frowned upon than in the Middle East, for example.

As one of the best ways to get around the city, taking the metro to visit popular landmarks and other locations around Hong Kong will be a part of every traveller's holiday experience. Visitors may be surprised at how packed and congested the local subway trains get during rush hour and other busy times of the day. Running across the platform to squeeze into a train car is not uncommon and tourists should feel no shame in acting similarly to secure a seat or a place in the train to reach their destination. It's just how things are done here.

This is particularly relevant for business travellers as exchanging business cards is a crucial part of most meetings and corporate events. It is necessary to use both hands when handing over your business card to a Hong Kong counterpart as using only one hand is rude according to local customs. The text should also be facing the person you are handing it to. Using both hands is also part and parcel of accepting a business card from someone else. Reading it and placing it inside the wallet is the acceptable next step as tucking the card away in a back pocket is offensive.

True to its Chinese heritage, Hong Kongers dislike receiving gifts such as clocks and shoes as these presents have specific meanings in local culture. The shoes apparently suggest to the recipient that he or she should "run away" while clocks carry associations with death.

Whether you are dining at the Park Hotel Hong Kong or any other restaurant/eatery at a Kowloon hotel in Hong Kong or elsewhere, there will be two sets of chopsticks on the table. These two sets of chopsticks have very specific uses as one is used to consume food off your own plate while the other is for serving food and transferring items onto your plate. Placing chopsticks in an upright manner in the middle of your food or rice bowl is also considered impolite as once again this practice is associated with death as the chopsticks symbolise joss sticks placed on a tomb.