Hello Jonathan,

You've been in China this long and you're still not used to being gouged by 'bait and switch' sales pitches and innumerable add-on fees?

That's the standard.

Your second concern is real; I've spent (more than a decade of) time attending and teaching at Chinese schools both public and private.
If your teachers at that school are locals, then your children are not learning the socratic method. If the teachers try to use that way of learning where students interact and challenge things, they would most likely upset the parents of the local children. So, it's sort of out of the teachers' hands. The Chinese want a Chinese style education, because that's what they know.
If there are some Westerners teaching there, get your kids in those classes, and let the teacher know your concerns. They can most likely accommodate with some more interactive lessons without causing too many alarms among the Chinese staff, depending on the rigidity of the existing curriculum.

I think the salt hording in China is HILARIOUS.
laughing, laughing.

I'm really curious about the camera shops out there; are they all sort of small mom-n-pop places, or are there some "neat and tidy" shops selling DSLRs and the like?

Anyone still doing this?
I'd like to know!