Author's Message
1. A friend from afar
2. Are stores open as usual on Sundays and holidays？
3. What does the date marked on product packaging indicate？
4. What is your name？
5. What is the class-break setting-up exercise？
6. Who was China's first emperor？
7. Why do college students need military training？
8. How to cross the street？
9. Why do some people speak so loud in public places？
10. What are the units of renminbi？
11. How many dialects are there in China？
12. Can chopsticks replace knives and forks？
13. What's the staple food of the Chinese？
14. Are any provincial names associated with the mountains and rivers？
15. How many days belong to statutory holidays and festivals of China each year？
16. What are the 24 solar terms？
17. What is the Chinese zodiac？
18. How to buy train tickets？
19. Do passengers need to undergo a security check at the railway station？
20. Does the bridegroom need to give red envelopes when fetching the bride？
21. Why are red dates, peanuts, Iongan and lotus seeds put on the wedding bed？
22. Which is the best day to admire the full moon？
23. What is the difference between '堂哥 Tang ge Cousin' and '表哥 Biao ge Cousin'？
24. How many Chinese characters are there？
25. What is pinyin tone？
26. What's the structure of Chinese characters？
27. How do the Chinese greet each other？
28. Does Chinese have any changes in gender,number and case？
29. Is there any language with one tone for one word？
30. How to input Chinese characters through the keyboard？
31. What are the 'Four Treasures of the Study'？
32. Do you know the story of Liuchi (Six-Chi) Lane？
33. What are the differences among green tea, black tea and Oolong tea？
34. What are the famous styles of cooking in China？
35. Are there still 'yin' and 'yang' in the world？
36. What are couplets？
37. Does house site selection still rely on fengshui？
38. Where is the longest ancient canal in the world？
39. Is the college entrance examination that important？
40. When do you retire？
41. What's the meaning of 'one-day teacher,life-long father'？
42. What is the hundredth-day banquet？
43. When to eat longevity noodles？
44. Must one join a sports club for morning or evening exercise？
45. What's the meaning of the Tai Chi Diagram？
46. What's the Chinese national ball game？
47. Can a hand be used to express ten figures？
48. What are the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)？
49. What's the Theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements？
50. What's the meaning of confinement in childbirth？
51. Why do some college students' family members accompany them when they go to study？
52. What's an hourly laborer？
53. What is the 'Three-Hundred-Thousand'？
54. Can you pay with your mobile phone？
55. What is the Chinese people's pension outlook？
56. Can everyone speculate in stocks？
57. Is a civil servant's job an 'iron rice bowl' or just a career choice？
58. What is the Double Eleven Festival？
59. Why Chinese have a special affection for bamboo？
60. What is a Chinese abacus？
61. What's the implication of table shapes？
62. What is the category of Confucian thoughts？
63. Why is Taishan Mountain 'Top of the Five Sacred Mountains' in China？
64. What do the Qingdao people think of Germany？.
65. What is the magic key to Chinese household management？
66. Which temple combines Taoism,Buddhism and Confucianism？
67. What are some main features of Beijing architecture？
68. What meanings does 'Danwei' have？
69. Is a registered permanent residence classified into rural or urban？
70. What are the 'old three-major-items'？
71. Can old newspapers be sold to make money？
72. What is the favorite board game of the Chinese？.
73. Why do the Chinese use both simple and complex numerals？
74. Why is a dragon the symbol of the Chinese？
75. How many classifiers are there in Chinese？
76. What are the attractions of the Great Wall？
77. Acco

作者希望通过这部书，能让读者，对中国悠久的历史，奇妙的文字，丰富的风俗，热情的人们有一个初步的认识，对中国和中国人不同于西方的特殊之处，有一个大概的轮廓。同时，作者还希望，读者能从《第一次去德国》和《第一次到中国》这两部姊妹篇中，认识东西方之间的不同点，如吃、喝、住、行、孩子教育、语言文字、风俗习惯、结婚生子、养老医保、汉字特点、日历对联等各个方方面面，让更多的人去了解它们，让更多的人去理解它们，促进各国人们之间的交往，避免生活、工作和文化差异带来的误会，消除偏见，求大同存小异，增加相互包容，也为建立东西方之间友谊之桥，增添自己的一份薄力。

本书讲述德国中学生汉斯作为交换生来到上海，在中国学习和生活所经历的一些事情，用70多个问题描述他第一次到中国的所见所闻和所想，带领读者体验中国文化之“和而不同”。比如：为什么用这么大的嗓门说话？中国人的主食是什么？新婚床上为什么放红枣和花生？什么是“一日为师，终身为父”？世上还有阴阳之分吗？“三百千”是什么？什么是中国人的治家法宝？等等。
本书不是乏味的知识罗列，而是以汉斯在中国的生活经历为线索串起不同的故事，内容涉及中国传统文化和当下中国比较值得关注的一些发展变化，可读性强，特别适合那些想了解中国、第一次到中国或准备到中国的外国读者阅读；流畅、地道的英文翻译，也适合国内大中学生英语学习参考。