Are you Chinese, Chinese-Canadian, or a Canadian ex-pat of a different ethnic lineage living in China? I just want to know where your perspective is coming from.
My wife's brother spent some time there and he loved some things and hated others. He said manners (at least the kind he is used to in Canada) went out the window. He said he also felt that he was treated with a different standard because he was a foreigner (like he was expected to let people cut in front of him in lines, or move out of the way for locals in public areas).
To be honest, my impression of China is tainted by knowledge of Chinatown in Vancouver... which is pretty dirty and crowded. At the same time, you rarely ever see a Chinese beggar or panhandler in Canada.
I was watching a show a while ago about a city in northern China near the Russian border where there is actually a Russian minorty in the city and strong Orthodox Christian community and use of the Cyrillic alphabet is common. That kind of surprised me. I wish I could remember the name of the city as it looked really nice... Harbin or something like that....
Edit: yes, it's Harbin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin