Many foreigners have lived the embarrassing experience when entering an elevator in China: “Hi, good morning”, you greet those already inside as you normally do in your own country. But very often, the Chinese stay impassive and simply ignore you … … After years in Paris, I begin to tell “bonjour (hello)” to every single person I cross. Once in China, my mother got so embarrassed by my frequent “ni hao” to others that she asked me:
“Why do you do it?”
“To be polite,” I replied.
“But you don’t know them,” my mother was puzzled.
That’s the point. Most Chinese don’t have the habit of greeting people they don’t know. It has nothing to do with politeness, but a pure cultural difference. So don’t feel frustrated if nobody responds to your greetings. Just ignore and forget it 😊.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/luxuefei_linkedin-china-chinese-activity-6684004826411495424-b06m