One popular souvenir for Western tourists to China is a "chop". A chop is a stamp which often has a person's name on it. It is pressed into an ink pad and used to stamp papers and envelopes. "Chops" make neat souvenirs, but in China, they are also crucial for signing contracts, approving company transactions, and managing Chinese businesses.

In most Western countries, the signature of a senior executive or company officer is sufficient to make the document legal and binding. In China, however, signatures by themselves do not make something legal; instead, the company must also "chop" all contracts, invoices, meeting minutes and any other legal documents. This way, contracts are not perceived to be an agreement between individuals-the people who sign them- but rather between companies. Each company has only one "chop" (or seal) and usually only one person is authorized to place it on documents and contracts. Obviously, the person keeping the company "chop" holds a lot of power!

Chinese companies also use the company "chop" in a very practical way, which is to make sure that no pages in a multi-page contract are removed or changed once the documents have been approved. They will fan out the contract pages, and then chop the company seal on the fanned-out pages so that each page has a slice of the company seal on it. Therefore, when you spread the pages out, you can quickly tell if any pages are missing or have been replaced with a new one; if nothing is amiss, you should be able to see the complete company seal on the edge of the pages; whereas if someone has inserted a new page into the contract or pulled one out, that page will not have a slice of the company seal on it.

(selected from 101 Stories for Foreigners to Understand Chinese People by Yi S. Ellis and Bryan D. Ellis, published by China Intercontinental Press in 2012)