Yep--China's a pretty crazy place. I had trouble coming up with things I wish I had known before I went, because the answer is "pretty much everything;" at the same time, there's a lot you can't really figure out until you get there.
First of all, try to parse your own preconceptions. China has a lot of baggage among foreigners, especially Westerners recently waking up to the Middle Kingdom's global clout.
A few things to think about:
- China isn't really communist. Yes, it's ruled by the Communist Party of China (Gongchandang 共产党）and yes, if you ask anyone in charge they'll tell you they're still on the glorious path of a socialist revolution. But when push comes to centrally planned shove, contemporary China's a lot less socialist than Canada (the latter has a public health-care system, for instance, whereas the former is just starting to consider one, given the economic crisis). Keep this in mind when you're faced with a constant barrage of ads and brands in all forms.
- China is, however, really authoritarian. Although officially there are "opposition" parties involved in governance, there's really only one Party, whose decisions are handed down and rubber-stamped at the highest level. Of course, it's never as simple as that: The more Beijing tries to create a centralized government ruling over 1.4 billion people, the more that governance becomes diffused and confused as it moves closer to the local level. This is why many common laws--rules about selling food on the street, for example--are disregarded altogether, until the local police are pressured to make a perfunctory crackdown.
- China takes itself really seriously, and is super-sensitive. To offer a grossly glossed generalization:
Thousands of years as a powerful empire + A century of "humiliation" at the hands of European, American and Japanese powers + Culture that fears "losing face" above almost all else + Country that has risen to crazy-huge prominence and power but in the international community spotlight more than ever before = Extremely patriotic population (and government) extremely hypersensitive to criticism
- Does that kind of make sense? Not really? That's okay--you'll figure it out when you question China's actions or reference a critical Western media report and get the evil eye from whomever you're speaking to. Of course this doesn't mean you shouldn't question China at all; just keep in mind that you'll get a lot farther by asking questions ("What do you think of the way Beijing is handling the economic crisis?" "What do you think should happen with Taiwan?" "Why do you think so many people like the Dalai Lama?") rather than making categorical statements that likely cut a lot deeper than you intend.
