[HelloHockeyFans]

I have never been a resident of China, but I have lived there for over a month at a time while on vacation and during these vacations, spent time living in both the more "Westernized" life (i.e. hotels, private condos, etc.) as well as spending time in my family's village.

I'm Canadian, parents were born and raised in China and Hong Kong.

My experience there was all positive, but only because I already knew what to expect through talks with friends who live and work in China. I can see how people are a little put back if they visit without any knowledge of what to expect.

Some random thoughts:

- avoid public washrooms if cleanliness and privacy are things you value. Public washrooms consist of "stalls" separated by short dividers that when squatting, your head and shoulders are higher than the divider. These "stalls" have no doors. I walked in and walked back out... did all my business in hotel washrooms.

- people drive like absolute maniacs there. The friend who took us in while we visited drove us around most of the time and literally pulled up on to the sidewalk and parked her car when we visited the above public washroom. This friend is actually from Canada as well... she's adapted to their way of doing things.

- There's an extreme contrast between the rich and the poor in China. The rich are ridiculously rich, while the poor are extremely poor. The friend we stayed with is doing well for herself. 1500+ square foot, 2-floor condo. When visiting some older family, they still lived in slightly modified shacks that they've been living in for generations now. No complaining from them though - they actually prefer the "old way" over the new.

- If you are there for business, be prepared to spend more time drinking and eating than actually conducting business. This is the way big business is done in China - there's a time for business talk and there's a time for business socializing. In China, more time seems to be spent doing the later. And we're not talking dinner and a few drinks, we're talking late night drinking until the sun rises. Then you do it again the next night... and the next, etc.

- Because my ethnicity is Chinese AND I speak mandarin and cantonese, I was well received by the locals there. Add in the fact that I communicate fluently in English as well, and people with a similar background as myself are highly valued in China. Lots of money to be made there for those willing to relocate.

- Some of my other friends were Chinese but couldn't speak Chinese. They were teased in a friendly way, but there's always a little truth in "jokes".

- Non-Chinese, from my perspective any way, are generally well received in developed China. Maybe for the wrong reasons, because the locals see money in foreigners (regardless of skin colour), but in developed China I think there's a strong eagerness by locals to learn and because of this, are respectful, keen and friendly.

- Bars/clubs are open to sunrise. China is a great place to party. Fun fact that we discovered: You can go to a club, get a table and buy bottles for the night, and if you don't finish your bottle that night, they will KEEP IT FOR YOU for the next time you come in!! Coat check style. Partying is very cheap in China... very cheap. Watch out for imitation alcohol. We've all heard about fake brand names that China is famous for... well, they also have fake alcohol.

- If you are adventurous with what you eat (i.e. you don't scrunch your nose in disgust about eating things like Vietnamese noodles in Canada with tripe in it), then there's a lot of great food to be had. I'll eat anything and don't see a difference between tripe and sausages that are ground from spare animal parts, so I tried everything there and loved most of it. If you love spicy food, visit Sichuan. Extremely spicy, but delicious food.

- Overall an excellent place for a vacation because you do get to see both sides of the coin if you want to see a fully developed megacity (like Shanghai) or ancient traditional sceneries like the Great Wall/Forbidden City. My friend who is from New York went with us on one trip and said Shanghai's skyline kicks New York's easily.

Sometimes, it seems like people are afraid of going to China because of its communist government, but to be honest, I've never been afraid there and didn't notice much of a difference. Mind you, I didn't spend any time on the internet, watching TV or listening to the radio, because well, I wasn't going to waste my time doing those things while on vacation. I went to eat great food, party and learn more about my roots and was satisfied in every way. I do get the feeling though that actually living there day to day would be very different in terms of the censoring the government imposes... something I'd likely hate. The key thing about visiting China and any where in the world actually, is to keep in mind that you are visiting a different country where things are likely done differently from where you come from... so have an open mind and realize that maybe things aren't done as a slight to you, but rather, are just the way things are done wherever you might be.