I moved to China a few weeks ago and was amazed how this place is an ideal place for startups/freelancers. First, the cost of living is extremely low AND you get a similar (if not better) quality of life than what you can get in the US. I live in Shenzhen, a very young city with a booming economy and the world's capital of electronics manufacturing. The population density here is much higher than even the largest US cities, which means: a lot of 24/7 restaurants, night clubs full everyday of the week / hour of the night, convenience stores around every corner, cheap taxis (3$US can get you far), etc. There are very few foreigners but it can be a nice thing at the same time because when you see a fellow westerner, you are tempted to socialize very quickly and most of them have interesting stories to tell. Ah, I was about to forget: Chinese girls love westerners.
China is also ideal for startups. The economy here is growing very fast and the domestic market is huge. The software industry here seems to be lagging behind the US by a couple years. This means that people knowledgeable about the western market have a significant edge because they are able to foresee the trends that are likely to take place in China. That's why there are so many Chinese clones of popular western websites.
I could go on and on... Get in touch with me if you'd like to ask some questions.
EDIT: Some pictures from my apartment http://www.flickr.com/photos/50425387@N06/