The ‘few real friends’ aspect is an important one. If you trust people too much or easily accept absolutely anybody as a friend, you might struggle here. People have a very different concept of friendship here.

Exactly. Though you might receive quite a lot of dinner invites here, that bears no relation to solid opportunities for lasting friendships with the hosts in the future.
What you said reminds me of an old hometown fellow who waved his wad of 100 RMB around for all to see in an attempt to lord himself over the other teachers and the rest of the patrons in a restaurant. It wasn't long before some devious plans were hatched to try to persuade him to invest in local business start-ups and guide him to whorehouses! He got himself into a lot of strife, and had to change his mobile number.
The locals here leave me be. By spying on my shopping expeditions and observing my oldish clothes, they have come to the conclusion I'm a poor old guy. That suits me just fine. If they thought I had money, they'd be after it, and I'd have to be rude to get rid of them.