don't expect to get concrete long term relationships out of them. Expect to understand and feel the society in both its good and its bad. You may get more than you bargained for because of your background. Just don't get too emotionally tied up

You know your onions re: relationships in china. Even the most open minded easy going expat/FT newbie in China will get that way after a couple of years, hard not to. You see that everything isn't so rosy, despite any good first impressions.