Welcome to the global surveillance society - it is only just beginning.

There are, of course, cultural generalizations that one can make about people, but if you are interested in them I strongly suggest that you consider them first and foremost as individuals rather than as citizens of some particular country or as members of a 'race', residents of a particular continent, etc. That goes for Chinese women, western men, etc. Getting a girlfriend is a little different from deciding whether you prefer McDonalds or Burger King, and if you look at people as members of categories first and foremost you will never get to know anybody.
Having said that, getting a Chinese girlfriend is not all that hard and if you really can't manage it the problem is much more likely to be you than 'them' as a group.

@Karina: yes, obviously one needs to learn the language. I know several vegetarians who manage to eat outside the western bubble, and not all Chinese dishes are spicy, even in Kunming. As for prices in restaurants, they're almost always written down on the menu. It strikes me that it would be very difficult to fail to be able to order noodles, even with the most rudimentary Chinese. I may have occasionally paid a little too much for stuff in the market, but it could never have been more than a very few kuai. And I am a laowai.

I took a Jinghong to Luang Namtha bus around 10 or 11AM just a month ago, runs daily from the south (main) bus station.

@Dudeson: I see - you're US, hence hi-cost med. insurance. But if you're paying 1300 rmb a month just for insurance it's a much larger amount than you are likely to have to spend out of pocket on medical costs here, unless you've got some serious condition, and if you teach in universities they seem to cover most medical expenses - anyway, that's what I hear.