It's not necessarily the people themselves that are hostile to foreigners...most are indeed nice enough. Some places in the hinterlands of China, though, are not quite as far removed from the Cultural Revolution bad old days. Here, school administrations, government bureaus, and so on can make life a lot more uncomfortable and be a lot more suspicious in its attitudes toward foreign workers.

People who don't look down on Chinese CAN have problems here. It happens all the time. This is not exactly a nation of saints....

As for boring...it's all in what you make it. For many foreigners who come to China, about the only reliable entertainment they can find are bars, DVDs, and possibly girls. A lot of expats here would KILL for a good conversation in real English. Most TV, movies in theatres, books, newspapers, and other such accustomed diversions will be incomprehensible if you aren't pretty salty in Chinese. Places like Shijiazhuang just don't offer much for foreigners to do.

Some people can keep their spirit of adventure alive and have fun in such environments. Many more just start feeling isolated, lonely, and bored there and can't wait to get out. Which kind you are...you can only judge for yourself.

I started my time in China in more remote, isolated cities before moving to places that had more people to talk to and things to do. In the big picture it was a fascinating experience, but a lot of the actual hours were pretty dull. I'm glad I started out there in "The Real China", because I can't imagine ever going back there now.