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How to make Chinese Friends! 你想中国人朋友？

As a foreigner in China, you will most probably want to make some Chinese

friends since people are the key to learning a new culture and adapting.

The ability to clearly communicate with people of different cultural backgrounds is such a vital

skill that you must never overlook. Chinese people are more than happy to make foreign

friends, but the process can be hard if you don’t speak Chinese.

Get out there ！

Really, if you want to make friends then there is no way you will achieve that by shutting up in your apartment all day and night, that’s pretty obvious. If you are feeling homesick or lonely and you do not know how to speak Chinese

then you might start feeling that the only option you have is to stay in potato-couching hole

indulging in some Netflix.

Well, you just can’t let that happen to you. Don’t give in and just sit in your comfort zone. Why travel all those miles to such a beautiful

country with rich culture only to sit in all day? If you want to make friends, leave your apartment

and get out there.

Getting to know and bond with your classmates/colleagues.

Odds are that when you are living in China, you are probably studying or working. You

definitely have classmates/colleagues probably around your age. Try spending

some time with them outside the workplace or school.

Chinese are not used to this and would much rather agree to disagree. You’ll often find someone from

China nod along to your statements even when they don’t agree with you as this is considered to be

respectful to others’ opinions.

Knowing exactly what kind of friends you want.

Having Chinese friends really makes your life more fun and interesting while in

China. To some extent, they make your life much more bearable and easier.

When you make great friends, they can be quite resourceful and help you figure

out a lot of things 。

Lots of Chinese people are quite friendly and very much interested in

making and meeting new friends from other places. This is mostly true with

the younger college-going age but also with the older Chinese people.

Taking a class

Do something new by learning another form of kungfu or Tai Chi, join a gym, learn to play Chinese chess or mahjong, or even take a

calligraphy class. When you meet people that share the same interests, it can be such a great

ice breaker and fun at the same time.

Praise Their English

It is pretty hard to find Chinese people who speak proper English and if you happen to meet anyone trying to communicate in English, kindly praise it. Most of the Chinese people who speak proper English probably have some good guanxi which exposed them to the western world. Get interested and let them tell you their story and

remind them how amazing they are.

Hang out and you’ll meet new people

By hanging out at a bar or other place where people are gathered, you can meet new people.

Sometimes Chinese can be shy, especially towards foreigners so it may be best if you

approach Chinese. Chinese are very friendly so once the ice is broken (and assuming

communication is not an issue), it should be easy to have a conversation.

BonusClick on the link below to read the full blog post.

http://blog.laowaicareer.com/making-chinese-friends-foreigner

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