How does China mark Cross-border Q&A?
Everyday topic
When you ask about everyday life in mainland China, the two layers most easily missed are shifted workdays and the household registration. The statutory number of days off is not the same thing as the actual length of the break, which is decided each year by a State Council notice; and school admission, home purchase and where social insurance is handled all follow the hukou, so 'where do you live' and 'where is your hukou' can have two different answers. Asking which layer the question is about, before answering, saves a great deal of confusion. It also helps to separate days off for all citizens from days off for part of them: International Women's Day, Youth Day and Children's Day belong to the latter.
What is this topic?
Wondering how people in Taiwan, Japan, the United States, India, Indonesia, or Brazil study, shop, celebrate, or handle an ordinary errand? Ask the question and let someone who lives there answer. This space is open all year.
Sources and dates
Dates follow local time zones, calendars, and official notices. Check the source when a date is estimated or locally variable.