The Deputy Mayor of Huzhou, Mr. JianPing Li, hosted our first supper in his city. In deference to our long flight and the resulting fatigue, our hosts allowed us to wear casual clothes and some of the usual formalities were waived. We were joined by Mr. Hulin Sun, the director of the Huzhou Office of Overseas China Affairs, and Mr. Yongliang Zhou, the Vice Secretary and Vice Director of the Huzhou Economic Development zone (HED). This was our first introduction to hosted meals in China.
We learned there is a protocol for taking your place at the round table. The number one host sits at the top of the circle. At his or her place, the napkin may be folded differently or it may be a different color. The number one guest sits at his or her right. A translator generally sits next to the number one guest. The number two guest sits to the left of the number one host. The number two host sits directly across the table from the number one host. The number three guest sits at the right hand of the number two host. And so on...If you happen to sit in the wrong chair, you will be directed to move to the correct chair. If you are unsure where you should sit, you can ask your translator or one of the hosts. After a few meals, we had a good idea of our place at the table.
The food was relatively simple, but good, and most dishes were served family style, placed on a rotating glass tray in the middle of the table. We were served a combination of vegetable and meat dishes -nothing that was too spicy. The meal began with a sweet cold soup and ended with fresh fruit. The presentation was wonderful, including birds and other animals or flowers carved from vegetables. I found that my hosts often put food on my plate, particularly if it was a specialty of the area or something that he or she wanted me to try. As it is polite to taste everything, I did. Sometimes I had a second serving.
At the first supper, there was not much conversation. The Vice Mayor spoke some English, as did Mr. Sun, but they could tell we were tired, so we did not talk about anything important. There was minimal toasting - just one toast from the vice mayor to begin the meal, a counter-toast by me to thank our hosts, and a second toast from the vice mayor to conclude the meal. As we disovered later, this was unusual. I'll talk more about toasting later, when I describe a meal during which it seemed there was more toasting than eating. As with many things, there is a protocol for offering toasts during meals.
It was an enjoyable meal and we all managed to stay awake until the Vice Mayor declared it over. Soon afterward, we went upstairs to our rooms to get some sleep.
We learned there is a protocol for taking your place at the round table. The number one host sits at the top of the circle. At his or her place, the napkin may be folded differently or it may be a different color. The number one guest sits at his or her right. A translator generally sits next to the number one guest. The number two guest sits to the left of the number one host. The number two host sits directly across the table from the number one host. The number three guest sits at the right hand of the number two host. And so on...If you happen to sit in the wrong chair, you will be directed to move to the correct chair. If you are unsure where you should sit, you can ask your translator or one of the hosts. After a few meals, we had a good idea of our place at the table.
The food was relatively simple, but good, and most dishes were served family style, placed on a rotating glass tray in the middle of the table. We were served a combination of vegetable and meat dishes -nothing that was too spicy. The meal began with a sweet cold soup and ended with fresh fruit. The presentation was wonderful, including birds and other animals or flowers carved from vegetables. I found that my hosts often put food on my plate, particularly if it was a specialty of the area or something that he or she wanted me to try. As it is polite to taste everything, I did. Sometimes I had a second serving.
At the first supper, there was not much conversation. The Vice Mayor spoke some English, as did Mr. Sun, but they could tell we were tired, so we did not talk about anything important. There was minimal toasting - just one toast from the vice mayor to begin the meal, a counter-toast by me to thank our hosts, and a second toast from the vice mayor to conclude the meal. As we disovered later, this was unusual. I'll talk more about toasting later, when I describe a meal during which it seemed there was more toasting than eating. As with many things, there is a protocol for offering toasts during meals.
It was an enjoyable meal and we all managed to stay awake until the Vice Mayor declared it over. Soon afterward, we went upstairs to our rooms to get some sleep.
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