-Anything and everything is negotiable. This will resonate with people who live there and find that deals can be made anywhere, not just in street markets but also in restaurants, bars, shopping centers, and taxis. On my way to Singapore, the staff at the airport informed me that my bags were overweight by some 20kg (40+lbs). After being in China for so long, I knew there had to be some wiggle room. And so, after some negotiation I ended up paying less than a third of the total fine. Not bad.
-The air really is bad. Most of us put up with the poor air quality in Beijing, although comparing Beijing air to a few packs a day is a popular conversation starter at expatriate mixers. But nothing will make you feel that difference like spending extended time in a country with blue skies every day. Many in Beijing are familiar with the fact that the US Embassy publishes air quality indicators on Twitter, which often measure off the charts.
-Chinese are very serious about studying abroad. I've written before about how Chinese students are flocking to American undergraduate programs. However, more and more Chinese are applying for US law degrees. The LSAC (administers the LSAT exam) has published information showing that Asia, and specifically China and Australia, have been the big areas for growth in terms of the number of LSAT exams taken. Obviously, most of the test takers I saw were Chinese when I took the exam in Beijing. However, when I took the LSAT again in Singapore, a large number of my fellow test takers were (PRC) Chinese. This trend will undoubtedly continue in the foreseeable future, but questions such as how bad the backlash will be as more Chinese students swarm American schools, as well as how much of this is a blind grab for foreign credentials, are all open questions.
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