The table turns clockwise: reading a Chinese lazy Susan before you touch it

The dish you want is on the far side of the table, behind a sheet of glass that spins. Nobody explains how it works, because to the nine other people eating there is nothing to explain — only a sequence they learned before they were tall enough to see over the rim.

Clockwise, and never mid-reach

The turntable — 转盘 zhuànpán — travels one direction in most dining rooms: clockwise, so a plate leaves your right hand and arrives at your neighbour's left. Turn it the other way and nothing bad happens; you simply feel the small stall of everyone at the table recalculating.

The rule that matters more than direction is the pause. You do not turn while a pair of chopsticks is held out over a dish, and you do not turn while someone is mid-spoon in the soup. Watch the hands rather than the food, and the timing takes care of itself.

Who the first turn belongs to

When a plate arrives it is rarely set down in front of whoever ordered it. It goes toward the seat facing the door, which in most banquet rooms is the head seat, and the first turn moves it there. If the dish is a whole fish, the head is usually already pointing that way.

This is also why nobody points to a chair when you walk in. Wait a beat to be placed; if nothing is said, take a seat with your back to the door, nearest where the staff come and go, and let someone move you up if they want to.

Nobody at a Chinese round table turns the glass for themselves.

The pour goes outward too

Tea, beer and baijiu follow the same outward logic. You fill other cups before your own, oldest first, and you keep half an eye on the level in the glass beside you rather than the one in front of you. The pot is set down with its spout aimed at the table edge or an empty gap, never across a person.

When someone fills your cup, curl two fingers and tap the cloth twice. It means thank you and lets the conversation keep running over the top of it, which is the entire point of doing it with your hand instead of your voice.

转盘转的不是菜，是次序。