Hey there. You might consider asking at some of the nicer hotels, like the green lake hotel. You don't always have to be a guest at a hotel in China to get a massage there. Just avoid the seedy ones! I've also heard good things about the Jinfang Forest Hot Springs 金方森林温泉, but it's a day trip.

Yes, I'm definitely going to tackle the mold with diluted bleach tonight, to see how that helps. The walls are a mess and clearly haven't been painted in ages, so nothing I do could make them worse. I don't need it to look nice. I'm only concerned about breathing better for the next several months, and just want to cover up the mold and crumbles. My landlord will probably be a jerk and take my deposit anyway. Might as well have cleaner air.

Also, regarding the imported paint: How likely is it that the imported brand is going to be manufactured in China anyway, and thus subject to the same toxicity risks?

Looking at B&Q's Chinese website I only see Nippon and Colours listed as paint brands (I'm presume they have more at the store). Colours brand is also available on B&Q's British site, so I presume it's an imported brand too.

Wow, I never would have expected paint to be so expensive. Bizarre.

tigertiger: I guess that's to be expected. I don't even want to deal with my landlord, as I just want to cover up the crumbling moldy walls as quickly as possible. Frankly, I'd rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. I don't really want to do the painting myself, but I would if I had to. I can buy the paint, but really have no idea what rate a local handyman would charge. If it's a lot, then I can do it myself, but I'm a bit clueless on labor costs. What's the Hanzi for latex paint? Google translate gives me 乳胶漆, but I don't know if that's the common term.

Mike4g_air: So the base primer you are talking about is actually house primer, right? Or are those prices also for automotive paint? Do you know the Hanzi for those primer and reducer? I've never been to B&Q before and don't know if they would be displayed in English or not.

Thanks!

I second what everyone says here, but would add a few more apps.

WhatsApp: free international texing to other iphone/androids over wifi, or super cheap with data.

HeyWire: same as above, but can text back and forth with non-smart phones in the USA and Canada. It will provide a free USA number for people in the USA to text you at local rates.

My Data Manager: gives you detailed breakdown of wifi and data usage for each app

Data On-Off: Single click button to turn your data on or off to save money.

gStrings: guitar tuner, awesome if you play

Google Sky: hold your phone up to the stars (might have to get out of town for this one) and it tells you the celestial information. Fun!

SMS Backup and Restore: backs up your text messages

Dropbox: online data storage