Continuing my series of blogs with advice for the newcomer to China....

Here are some things it's valuable to know when you step off the plane:

Getting your tired, dazed, jet-lagged self, and all of your luggage, out of the airport: If you are staying at a hotel after arriving in Beijing, let's hope you've picked one that offers an airport shuttle service. We like the Citic Hotel Beijing Airport. Otherwise your first interaction with Chinese commerce will be an inflated taxi ride at the airport. Look for the taxi stand and don't go with the people lying in wait at the arrivals gate offering you a taxi. There is a rail service that connects with the subway service, for the adventurous. But I for one wouldn't take a large suitcase onto the Beijing subway system during rush hour. 

Tips -- speaking of tips -- in Beijing and Shanghai and in the most Western-oriented hotels, we tip the bellboy and the chambermaid just as we would at home. But the local taxi drivers  (here in a city in the middle of Shandong Province) are absolutely flummoxed when we try to tip them. And we do, especially if they have driven us out to our campus at night, because it's a long drive back into town with little prospect of picking up a fare.  We don't tip at restaurants or at budget hotels. I've never noticed a tip jar at a coffee bar, either. So, no need to tip outside the major metropolitan centers or major tourist places...

So you've landed a teaching position in China and you're packing your suitcase. What should you bring? What is readily available? This topic is widely discussed in expat forums but here's my two cents:

If you're going to be working in Beijing, Shanghai or other first-tier city,  you can track down any western item or any Western or international food that you crave. My advice applies to those of you travelling to a second- or third- tier city, such as Zibo, where I live. Having said that, I have only lived in and visited four provinces so I can't speak authoritatively about every province in China. Conditions and availability may vary:

It is not the case, as some older online info says, that you need to bring a year's supply of your own anti-antiperspirant, razors, toothpaste and toiletries. There's a staggering array of makeup, toiletries and moisturizers to choose from. Check out any department store or mall or try the chain store "Watson's." You can find familiar brands as well as experiment with domestic brands, such as jasmine flower flavor toothpaste. (One exception, discussed below, home hair dye kits.)

Are you packing your suitcase to come to work in China? Have you got the OMG-I'm-moving-to-a-foreign-country jitters? You'll find a lot of "do's" and "don'ts" about Chinese etiquette floating around the web but reading them all might make you feel even more nervous!  For light-hearted and useful advice, I really recommend the "Local Laowai" series on YouTube .

I recently spent a week at a countryside resort and the manager commented to me that I was the most polite foreigner he'd ever met, because I was aware of other people and didn't just care about myself. So I must be doing something right.  Here are my observations....

Let's take as your starting point that you want to show your Asian colleagues and friends and the random people that you meet that you are intelligent, polite, and culturally aware but not to the point of slavishness and over-exaggeration. You want to fit in, not look ridiculous. 

So.... yeah, tip one, don't bow too deeply. Don't bow at the same time you're shaking hands, that looks awkward. No-one is expecting you to bow at all, actually. You're a Westerner.  
When we're bicycling through a Chinese village and we pass an elderly villager sitting in the sun, I do give them a smile and a head bob, to show respect. I hope they understand that I want to show respect for their grey hairs and for the fact that I'm cycling through their village. Or maybe I look like a dope. I hope not. Also when I'm called upon to speak in front of a group, I start with a little bow, because that is what all the other speakers do.  It seems to be well received. Otherwise, I don't go around bowing at everybody...