These are some of the culture and language points talked about in my lessons, if you want to see more, you can come to my online course, listen to my voice and enjoy animated lessons at activechinese.com .
-In China, one person usually pays for the entire bill. Friends show their generosity to each other this way but it is expected that they take turns paying for the meal. Splitting the bill is called AA制 and is starting to become more common among young people in China.
-There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac which represent different years.
These 12 animals are: 鼠shu3 （mouse）
牛niu2（cattle）
虎hu3 (tiger)
兔tu4 (rabbit)
龙lon2 (dragon)
蛇she2 (snake)
马ma3 (horse)
羊yang2 (sheep)
猴hou2 (monkey)
鸡ji1 (chicken)
狗gou3 (dog)
猪zhu1 (pig).
Each year represents a different animal and after 12 years the cycle starts again. If you tell someone your zodiac animal, they should be able to predict your age. Unless their guess of your age is more than 12 years off.