Right now I am in Shandong, Jining. The last two weeks have been horrible. Sometimes the AQI is as high as 800. These days I have been wearing a respirator when I go outside. AQI of 150 is probably considered a good day here.

At least in Kunming you don't have to worry much about toxic fumes blowing in from the west. In East china we get all the nasty shit blowing in from central china.

There's no need for animal shelters in China since the dog meat restaurants can handle the excess supply. It probably seems cruel to many, but I'm sure the Indians feel the same way about us eating their sacred cows.

Just a minor correction to laotou's rant. Merida is not a domestic company. It is actually a Taiwanese company, and even a little older than the Giant brand. Quality wise it is at least as good as Giant (probably better). I see a lot of Giant bicycles which in my opinion are just run of the mill mainland Chinese bikes with a fancy "Giant" sticker on them. As far as I can tell Merida doesn't offer any low end products, which probably makes them even more of a target for theft. I assume at least some of the thieves know which bicycles to steal. In Toronto the thieves usually work at bike shops.

From what I recall the delivery time was maybe 3 or 4 days. But I am in Eastern China. The delivery time varies depending where you live. I would guess as this item comes from East China it could take a little longer to reach Kunming (probably not more than 2 weeks).

If you want a bike that works well, get a Merida or Giant that doesn't cost less than 1200rmb. If you want something that won't be stolen then get something as cheap an shitty looking as possible.