Chinese banquet etiquette - seating arrangements

Chinese banquet etiquette is very particular when dining with elders, relatives and friends.

Over the past five thousand years in China, a Chinese food culture tradition of Chinese banquet etiquette has been formed. If you still don’t know how to do it at the dinner table, you can learn this issue’s Chinese banquet etiquette—arrange your seats.

This is because Chinese food is served in a clockwise direction, so those on the right receive priority over those on the left.

The middle seat is respected: When three people are dining together, the person sitting in the middle will have a higher position than the people sitting on either side of them.

Face the door on top: If during a meal, some people sit facing the main door, and some people sit with their backs to the main door, according to etiquette convention, the person facing the main door should sit on top, and the person with their back to the front door should sit on the bottom.

Better viewing: When dining in some high-end restaurants, there are often beautiful scenery or elegant performances indoors and outdoors for diners to enjoy. At this time, you should sit at the place with the best viewing angle.

As far as banquets are concerned, it is generally necessary to arrange the tables and seats in advance so that everyone attending the banquet can go to their seats and show respect for the guests.

Usually, the position of the table is determined by the distance from the main table.

Based on the owner's table, the right is high, the left is low, the near is high and the far is low.

As far as the height of the seats is concerned, the following points are mainly considered: First, take the host's seat as the center. If the hostess participates, then use the host and hostess as the basis, near high, far low, upper right, left lower, in order.

Secondly, the guest of honor is usually placed in the most distinguished position, that is, the right hand position of the host, and the wife of the guest of honor is placed on the right hand position of the hostess.

Thirdly, the host should interact with the guests as much as possible to facilitate conversation and avoid sitting together and neglecting the guests.

If there are foreign guests, the interpreter is usually placed to the right of the guest of honor.

The seating arrangements for family banquets are relatively simple. The host and hostess usually sit opposite or crosswise, and the host usually has his back to the wall of the hall.

Mr. Chang Renchun, a famous folklorist, told reporters that generally, north is upward.

In the past, people often gave up their seats at weddings or funeral banquets. For example, when several elderly people of about the same age sat together, they would inevitably give in to each other.

"It's you, or you?" After a lot of back-and-forth, and still couldn't decide, the discerning emcee or waiter would shout, "Four directions are the best, you're welcome to take a seat!" Then everyone would take their seats one after another, and there wouldn't be any confusion.

What is the difference between the upper and lower seats?

Pay attention to the order of position: high on the left and low on the right: When two people sit side by side, the right is usually the upper seat and the left is the lower seat.

This is because Chinese food is usually served in a clockwise direction, so those on the right receive priority over those on the left.

The person sitting in the middle is respected: When three people are dining together, the person sitting in the middle should be ranked higher than the people sitting on either side of them.

Face the door on top: If during a meal, some people sit facing the main door, and some people sit with their backs to the main door, according to etiquette and convention, the person facing the main door should sit on top, and the person with their back to the front door should sit on the bottom.

Better viewing: When dining in some high-end restaurants, there are often beautiful scenery or elegant performances indoors and outdoors for diners to enjoy. At this time, you should sit at the place with the best viewing angle.

It is better to sit next to the wall: When dining in some mid- to low-end restaurants, in order to prevent the interference of passing waiters and diners, the upper seat is usually the seat next to the wall, and the lower seat is the seat next to the aisle.

If there is a special podium in the banquet hall, the dining table next to the podium should be the main table. If there is no special podium, sometimes the dining table with the main frame behind it should be the main table.

All tables face the same direction: If it is a banquet venue, the guests and guests on each table should be in the same direction as the main table.

Farthest first: When the tables are arranged vertically, the distance from the main entrance of the banquet hall shall prevail. The further away from the door, the more noble the position.