CHINA:WHEN IN doubt, don't ask. That's the etiquette message being transmitted to the people of Beijing ahead of the Olympics on August 8th - sex, religion, age and wages are all taboo when it comes to dealing with foreign tourists, writes Clifford Coonan.
The propaganda department of downtown Dongcheng district has issued a list of "eight don't asks" as a guide for locals about how to show proper hospitality.
"Don't ask about income or expenses; don't ask about age; don't ask about love life or marriage; don't ask about health; don't ask about someone's home or address; don't ask about personal experience; don't ask about religion or politics; don't ask what someone does," the poster reads on a bulletin board.
Dongcheng district is home to some of the city's top tourist sites, including Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It is also the location of the Beijing Workers' Gymnasium, the boxing venue for the Olympics.
The campaign is the latest stage in efforts to improve behaviour in Beijing ahead of the games, which run until August 24th.
Half a million tourists are expected in Beijing for the games.
The measures have included a campaign to stop people jumping queues, spitting, littering and also speaking loudly, which is viewed as a great impoliteness in China.
Certainly the campaign has improved manners on the streets of Beijing - there has been a big reduction in the amount of loud throat clearing and hawking, for example.
This was proven by Renmin University's Civilised Behaviour Index, which rose to 73.08 last year from 65.21 in 2005 as people spat and littered less.
Earlier this month was the final "queuing day", the end of a two-year campaign which took place on the 11th day of each month to improve manners and encourage people to stand in line in public venues, such as bus stops and train stations.
Taxi drivers have been told not to sleep in their cabs, change their shirts regularly and say "thank you" and "bye-bye".
Volunteers have given lessons in cheerleading, how to cross the road and sign language.
This month, 17 million people took part in an online quiz which included questions such as: "When to applaud during a symphony concert? Is it a) a pause in a musical composition; b) after the musical composition; or c) after the whole musical composition ends."
There have been teething troubles in the campaigns. In May, organisers had to apologise for a training manual issued to thousands of Olympic and Paralympic volunteers following complaints about inappropriate language used to describe disabled athletes. And there were few signs of politeness when the last Olympic tickets went on sale last week - there was nearly a riot when police struggled to control surging crowds of more than 50,000 people.