They also have a strong sense of etiquette. Younger men and women wait for their elders to eat before they eat. Children respect their parents. For tea drinking, porcelain cups with covers and matching saucers are used. These are either pure white or pale green and are decorated with twin dragons or orchid and flower designs.
Boiling water is poured over a mixture of tea leaves, sugar and longan pulp.
The Dongxiang welcome visitors with their best provisions. The host will not dine with his visitors but will sit at the side and pour tea for them. Visitors, or the most honored guest, also have the privilege of receiving the chicken tail. The chicken is cooked and cut into thirteen pieces, but for the Dongxiang, the choice portion is the tail. Monogamy is practiced with marriages being arranged, often with the use of a go-between.