Do Not Tip

No need to worry about how much to tip someone while travelling in China - tipping is not necessary and frowned upon.  My first day I attempted to tip the young man who carried my bags up to my hotel room but he only looked at me strangely and shook his head when I pulled out my wallet.  Coworker J confirms that you don't need to tip at restaurants  not at salons, not at bars, no tipping anywhere.

The service has been very fast at all the restaurants I've eaten at - similar to the speed of fast food restaurants in the US.  Almost as soon as you've ordered one or two dishes arrive at the table and the rest arrive as soon as they are finished cooking.  There is no waiting until all the dishes are ready before they reach your table.  Since meals are family style there is no waiting for someone's meal to arrive while food sits in front of everyone else.  Besides the comfort in knowing that your food is fresh, it helps space out the length of the meal so you don't eat so fast.