Eating habits are different in different countries. In the west everyone has their own plate of food. In China, people put all the dishes on the table and they share together. Chinese have a saying, "Obey the customs（习俗）of the place. "
Chinese are very proud of their culture of food. They will try their best to give the guests a taste of many different kinds of dishes, and they must prepare enough food for them. If a Chinese host treats you, you'll eat a lot of food. If they take somebody out for dinner, they usually order one more dish than the number of guests. If it is a business dinner, there will be a larger number of dishes.
The dinner usually starts with some cold dishes. Then, the main courses are hot meat and vegetable dishes. Finally it's soup. Many Chinese eat rice and noodles as staples, but if you like to have your rice together with other dishes, just do it.
When you are eating with a Chinese host, maybe someone is using chopsticks to put food in your bowl or plate. It's polite in China. You should eat whatever it is and say how delicious it is. If you dislike it, you can say a polite "thank you" to the host and leave the food there.
