Communicate Across Language Barriers

If you don't know the Chinese language, at least make yourself understood or get a friend who knows the language to go speak together with you. People may be able to understand you speaking in English, but be prepared to pay a hefty price for that.

I recommend: Mandarin House provides an intensive course in the Chinese language targeted at expatriates in Shanghai. Shanghai House Of Entrepreneurs are a group of young bilingual student translators from Singapore in Shanghai who are able to effectively solve any language problems you may encounter in China.

Understand the Chinese People

Michael Conolly, an expat in Shanghai, notes: "Learning to understand cultural expectations is not something that can be done overnight or by simply reading a book. Specific actions that allow one to develop guanxi in Chinese culture might seem to the Western mind improper but the basic premise is the same: Working with people that can be trusted is crucial to success."

I recommend: Guanxi.com is a website in China which enables users to expand their circle of friends and business contacts in China. Shanghai Expat is an online community of expatriates in Shanghai, who offer tips and tricks to working and living in China.