. From a personal point of view i would struggle to live on 5000RMB a month in a city like Shanghai. However, if you head out to smaller cities or areas away from the East coast then this amount would be enough to live comfortably.

Magister, from this part of your above posting, it is obvious you know your onions and potatoes regarding China.

5,000 is a laughable amount for Shanghai, but then I have no desire to live there, even for 15k a month. Money is not everything.

5,000 in a smaller city is perfectly adequate, especially if you factor in free housing.