Speaking of Chinese banquet and business dinner, one of the most important parts is the hierarchical table and seating arrangement 桌次以及座次安排(zhuō cì yǐ jí zuò cì ān pái). For a foreign trade man who is always involved in social engagement, mastering the sophisticated Chinese seating arrangement and dining etiquette is also part of learning the business Chinese language.

Table Arrangement:

Before come to the detailed seating arrangement at each table, we need to first know something about the table arrangement at some big banquets. Basically, there’re several rules:

1. The table at the center (居中 jū zhōng) is the most important;

Source: http://www.masterchinese.com/how-to-learn-chinese-mandarin/business-chinese-learning/table-and-seating-arrangement/

Seating arrangement (座次安排 zhuō cì ān pái )

Regarding the seating arrangement at each table, some basic rules are the same with the arrangement of tables.