Hey Razqal,
I'd love to answer your questions about China, but the reality is I've only been to Shanghai so far. As I understand, Shanghai is a totally different beast compared to the rest of the ROC. Shanghai is no doubt modern, and it basically changes everyday. Imagine Taipei in the 80s. It's sort of like they are building a city from scratch. The food here is good. A lot of different continental cuisine are represented, but I do find that Shanghainese food is VERY greasy. There are a large amount of Taiwnaese restaurants here, so if I get a little sentinmental I can grab a bite of the island. Actually, the Taiwanese seem to run shit here. So many of the developments/businesses are owned by Taiwanese people. You can live a pretty good life here if you are a Formosan
.
I really like Shanghai and I think this is due to the fact that it's very open to anyone that wants to make their ideas or talents come to fruition. It's the 21st century boom town with a plethora of opportunity.
On the other hand, the pollution here is worse than Taiwan. It's really quite sick. Shanghai is lucky that it isn't near mountains or in a valley because this place would be unliveable if it was.
edit- poor grammar