I agree with the webmaster on this one. James put his bad review in the wrong place, it should have been in the reviews section. If I was running the site, I would have moved it to the reviews section with a zero star rating and locked the thread. Why? Not because he is insulting a paying advertiser, because the forums is not the place to write a review.

This highlights a clash between western and Chinese culture and (I think) is a good indication of something bad about western culture. We seem to think we have a god given right to scream obscenities about anything we want to anyone we want... after all nobody has to listen to us. Even though our own countries have laws against this (libel and slander defamation laws), we still seem to think its OK. The internet just exacerbates this by making our statements more anonymous. A case in my country recently saw someone sued for libel over a twitter post. You might think thats ridiculous but the person was successfully prosecuted and rightly so - they made factually incorrect statements about a person which adversely affected the victim.

This creates a problem when it comes to reviews as well - only people that feel extremely bad or good about something will generally post a review on it. While over time you will get an averaged idea about a place/product, looking at a single review will likely tell you a single persons opinion. Which is the same in this case. Looking at the original post and other forum posts about Keats, there are other people that have had good experiences with the school... and it seems some of James original facts may be questionable.

From a Chinese perspective, James is directly attacking their business by posting questionable statements on a site many of their potential clients visit. Chinese culture, laws and attitudes are completely different to those in the west and anyone coming to China needs (and probably does) understand this. This site is a western style site but with many Chinese readers and businesses advertising on it. James has made questionable statements in the wrong place and is claiming that continuing to do so is his right. Well, in China this has legal ramifications and is generally bad form anyhow. I also sense a personality clash which tends to make people exaggerate issues.

I am sure if you had posted your review in the proper place it would not have received the same response from them. Not taking the time to figure out how to post a review isn't a good excuse I am sorry. You may be stretching it a bit by saying "I don't know how" as you are obviously a smart person so should be able to figure it out pretty quickly.

Well, depends on how you want to eat really!

A local meal cost between 5-12 RMB for a plate of food. It would cost around the same (or a little bit more) to cook for yourself using local ingredients from the market/supermarket. Average western meal would cost around 25-50 RMB for the same. So you should have some idea about how much food costs here.

Entertainment (going to pubs/clubs etc)... well it depends how much you want! A new theatre costs 120 RMB is the most expensive I have seen here, 40 RMB for a lower quality theatre. Beer costs between 12-18 RMB for a local beer (Dali, Tsingtao or Budweiser, strangely enough!) or around 20-60 RMB for imported beer from europe or Australia. Karaoke costs around 120 RMB plus beer/snacks on top of this, if you are into that sort of thing!

I am easily living on 2000 RMB per month (75 USD approx 500 RMB, multiply by 4 = 2000 RMB per month) eating the occasional western meal, NOT including rent (1000 RMB per month for a nice place) or power and with a couple of nights out per month. I think you should be fine on that budget as long as you don't want to live it up.

Well, I came to Kunming to learn Chinese, not to meet Chinese girls as I had recently broken up from a long term relationship and didn't want to start anything new. Three weeks later I have a Chinese girlfriend (a sweet, loving and beautiful gal whose English is average, but rapidly improving... and I am short and bald, still with blue eyes though!) AND are learning Chinese and really like Kunming. It sounds like, gaoxing, that you came here looking just for sex - I think that most girls anywhere know when a man is only interested in sex and are themselves not interested, so will fein not knowing any English and basically think you are an idiot. If you are interested in a real long term relationship with a Chinese girl you should want to understand her culture, language, family and (important with any girl!) her as a person. Not simply her as an object to fulfill your whims.

Frankly its a bit dispicable for you to go to foreign countries just to chase tail. This behaviour seems to have gained some acceptance in the west due to the amount of men doing it in places like Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Nevertheless it is still morally reprehensible and any man wanting to do so should take a long hard look at himself. Sure the over feminisation of the west and the "female in control" social/sexual/relationship dynamic found in the west alienates men. But you must see that coming to a place just to get your end off damages yourself, the country where you are doing it, the locals opinions of the west and the girls that you involve in your activities. I would suggest if you are really interested in meeting a Chinese girl for a long term relationship, do like many ex-pats do and come and UNDERSTAND China first plus learn the language. That will give you a new perspective on life and love plus give you a much greater chance of finding a nice Chinese girl.