I have never once had a driver to the GW refuse lunch (many, many data points).

I have not had many long journeys so may be that is the reason its different, plus I usually travel around Shanghai, plus usually the clients arrange for the cars for me.

All said, I have a Chinese Business Partner, he always makes me buy some breads or cakes for them instead of lunch. And if you have a chinese traveling with you, its easier.

"Long journeys" are a critical point in this thread. If you bring a driver out of his normal element (e.g. eating dirt cheap Chinese food that he knows well) and put him in a tourist trap like Mutianyu for the bulk of the day, it makes sense to help out on the meal front whether or not you join him. Apart from simple courtesy, I certainly want my drivers to have sufficient energy at the end of the day when they bring me back to town.

Once took a friend to Mutianyu with a driver that I know well. We invited him to join us for lunch (at the Schoolhouse). He turned down our offer. He said that all drivers were getting a free lunch downstairs from the restaurant. Drivers often get kickbacks for taking you somewhere and that includes some restaurants.

I guess it is also to do with where actually you are going! If its a tourist place that you go to, they might be looking forward to a lunch sponsored by the guest / or the restaurant where Guest is taking food. Kickbacks at tourist places is common.

Never experienced Chinese turn down a gratuity.

Doesn't make you look stupid, doesn't matter.

If you feel like giving more than you are required.
Who really cares?:p

If you give more than required it can be sometimes seen as you're trying to flaunt your superior wealth.

The Chinese are massively segregated by financial status and it may make some poorer people a little uncomfortable.

In China, flaunt wealth? :D

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsph..._N71_copy1.JPG

Lol, that's just silly :rolleyes:

That's not silly, thats 'china' ;)

Not where I am at the moment pal, trust me.

You'll only find that in the bigger cities. People in the smaller cities tend to be a bit more modest.

Personally I've observed an inverse correlation between city size / tier status and the prevalance of wealth flaunting. I'm not just talking about wenzhou and the random mining towns but about less obvious suspects such as ningbo, Nanning, lanzhou, shenyang, and jinan.

The only cities I've encountered in China in which wealth flaunting is not common practice are those that haven't gotten a taste of Beijing's water yet, but it's only a matter of time before they follow suit.

I agree, most smaller areas might not have the same degree of wealth to flaunt, but they flaunt what they have more. There is a Chinese saying that calls officials who are far away from the Capital "dirt emperors (土皇帝)". Meaning those who are far from the real emperor/president, live like emperors in their own areas.