Sorry to hear about your mishap pete, and glad you got out in one piece. Also, thankyou for posting this so we can learn from what happened to you.

About the accident last week, I was in the left most lane because I wanted to make a left at the intersection, ~500m from where I hit the girl. Riding in the middle of the lane, I had no chance, I really didn't see her, never had a chance to break or swerve. So riding with the cars is not totally safe, but still, I also find it safer to be in the middle of the road especially if I'm expecting to make a left later. I split lanes all the times, but I'm always checking over my shoulder. Actually only the left mirror is hanging on the bars now, but it's also useless. I'm used to looking behind me from the days of riding the bike, so checking over my shoulder is not a new thing. I even check when I'm not lane splitting, just to be aware of my surroundings. So break your mirrors, maybe it's good for you.

I used to ride in the bike lane sometimes but I was kicked out three times and the police officers said I was NOT allowed on the bike lane, only allowed share the road with other cars. This is in Kunming however, don't know about Shandong. But riding anything bigger than a scooter in the bike lane is a bad idea really. Cyclists here have a hard time keeping a straight line.
Don't let this stop you, everyone crashes, that's why we have helmets and proper gear on, so we can fix the bike and get back to riding.