When you fly to China, you may be lucky enough to have a colleague pick you up at the airport. If it's the first time you have met, they'll usually hold up a piece of paper with your name on it. Look for your name carefully! There are many people waiting and quite a lot of them are holding paper/boards/posters etc so you may need to spend time locating the one who's waiting for you! When approaching your Chinese colleague, you may offer to shake hands when you say 我就是…… (I am…). The answer will usually be 你好, 欢迎! (Hello, welcome!), followed by more questions to show friendliness and care. Such questions include: 你的一路顺利吗? (Did you have a good journey?) 累不累? (Are you tired?) You might also be asked 这是你第一次来中国吗? (Is this your first time in China?) This is a very popular question!

If the person waiting for you at the airport is a colleague from your future company, they might give you their business card containing their name, contact number, and company address. You'll only know what Chinese people's names really are when you see the characters! Accept it with both hands, take a good look, and then put it into your pocket (rather than fold it and throw it into your giant hand luggage!). Do not call them by their first name. Use their family name, and add 先生 (Mr), 小姐 (Miss) or 女士 (Ms) before that. They'll offer to help you carry your luggage/push your cart. Say 谢谢! (Thanks!)

Now you are on your way to the hotel from the airport. Engage in a conversation! Be prepared to talk yourself a bit if your colleague is keen to know you (e.g. your past study and work experience), and also don't be surprised if the conversation veers towards English football as a lot of people like English football teams such as Manchester United! (You'll be surprised at how many English footballers Chinese people can name.) If you want to initiate a conversation, you could ask about the city, the population, the weather, etc. as people are proud to introduce their city and share with you their knowledge on how fast the city is developing!

You'll usually say goodbye in the hotel lobby. You don't need to give the driver a tip – people seldom give tips in China and this is your colleague! You don't need to suggest having drinks together either. Express your gratitude by saying 谢谢! (Thanks!) 真是麻烦你们了! (Thanks for taking the trouble!) 谢谢你们去机场接我! (Thanks for picking me up from the airport!) 真是太感谢了! (I'm really grateful!) It is also common to say 认识您很高兴 (Nice to meet you) before you separate. Your colleague might ask you to 好好休息 (have a good rest) and 调整时差 (overcome the jetlag, lit. adjust the time difference). You can simply reply 好的 (OK). Stand where you are when they walk out of the lobby and wave to them again when saying 再见! (Goodbye!).