I hope this thread isn't dead. Re Chinese pianos: I've played a few over the last coupld of weeks. Completely by accident, because normally I wouldn't go near one. All of them have pretty poor tone and touch, in my experience, with one huge and odd exception: Hailun and Wendl & Lung (I think I got that right) which I'm told are nearly identical except for the more expensive finish of the latter. I played a number of different sized Hailun grands, and I have to admit that both the action and the tone were considerably more refined than what one typically experiences on a Kawai or Yamaha.
Stunning, in fact, is probably the word I'd use to describe the 218 Hailun Grand, notwithstanding the hideous and tacky plastic-looking keys. The uprights are, as well, very, very acceptable--although I'm not keen on uprights generally.
They are, as well, very inexpensive.
JG