Abstract: In intercultural communication practice，some hidden or inherent cultural factors will affect people′s perceptions and actions both consciously and unconsciously，which may cause barriers to people′s communication，conflicts and even other unexpected results.The analysis of the present paper is based on a case reported on the website of SOHU about the cultural conflicts between an old Chinese father and his daughter who has been living in Canada for many years.The intentions of the paper are to explore the relationship between culture and people′s perceptions and actions，and to state the importance of cultural factors which include the values，national characteristics and cultural patterns in intercultural communication.The author also proposes some advice about how to reduce conflicts and misunderstandings in intercultural communication.

Key words: cultural factors, perception, value, national characteristcs, cultural patterns