I agree with Raoul. China is nice in places. What places? Well Yunnan is great: eternal spring, sunny weather because it is high, near the Himalayas and Laos Mayanmar, lots of things to see. I would also like to live on Hainan Island for a year. It is on the same latitude as North Vietnam and Luzon Philipines. Winter is very gentle. The problem with the north is the cold dreary winter, all the coal burned and the spring dust storms which are as bad as the ones in Arabia. My paper work was not so difficult but the papers accepted in China were initially rejected at the Chinese Embassey because they wanted me to redo my physical exam at their designated hospital. I guess China is legitimately worried about TB and AIDS coming into the country but in reality there are more health problems inside the country, especially from pollution and traffic. I've stayed pretty healthy here, surprise surprise. Tourists coming in are not screened and they can stay for quite a while. BTW, what is the maximum stay for a tourist? Anybody know?
I like my students too. They are not spoiled and are innocent in a lot of ways. Most are very helpful if asked. I find they have little concept of the outside world. They need contact with foreigners.

Raoul, instead of packing in ESL (as you metioned elsewhere) why not use your business skills and open a school in a pleasant climate? There are lots of people looking for partners and it is a profitable industry. There are ways to safeguard yourself like daily profit splitting. I'm helping to open schools in the Caribbean, Korea and the US. India is a growth area and English is widely spoken especially by the wealthy class. The higher places in India and Sri Lanka have a wonderful climate. Grow your own tea and coffee.