When I first arrived in china 4.5 years ago, with my dog-eared lonely planet guide and basic mandarin phrase book, I longed nothing more than a glass of cold water to wash down the 'strange' food that wasn't kicking and bucking in my inexperienced stomach. But by the time I managed to pronounce "shui" (water) in the correct tone for the waitress to understand me, my heart would sink as she brought over a steaming hot glass of water. It took me a while longer to summon up the courage to ask again for the cold water, or "bing shui", my body was squealing for.

But like with any new things, after a while you adapt, and it becomes 'normal'. Within months of living in China, I had become an avid hot water drinker. And even now, though I do enjoy the odd cup of coffee and English tea, hot water is the favoured beverage of choice. It's also one of the Chinese people's preferential cures to most stomach upsets and illnesses. Got a stomach ache? Drink hot water. Period Pains? Hot water's the answer. The flu? Yep, you guessed it, drink hot water.


Although I know to most people hot water seems a lot less tempting a glass of cool refreshing water, the Chinese people have some good habits (as well as some very bad ones) when it comes to health; and consuming hot water is one of them. A quick web search, and you'll find that drinking hot water has a number of benefits, from being a cure for constipation, to improving blood circulation, and even helping to clear out the nasty deposits in your nervous system that can create negative emotions and thoughts! Although many Chinese people won't know the how and why of their daily habits, this is just one of those things that all Chinese people know and do. It's a bit like how we all know to hold our breath when we have hiccups. We don't know why and how, but it seems to work, and we all do it.

So although a good 'cuppa' English tea may be just the ticket when you've had a long hard day at work, a cup of hot water may be a clever little trick to remember too!