The problem with China is other than some very small roads and city streets all the trucks are extremely overladen and smash most new roads to pieces within about three years. Also maintenance is generally treated as a dirty word meaning every road is rebuilt on average every five years, so unless someone has ridden a particular road in the last six months it's a complete crap-shoot whether you'll be riding on pristine tarmac, concrete or a lunar landscape.

I know practically every road in central Shandong and I get caught out by road conditions now and again. Although there are some roads which are consistent.