Every other Google search wouldn't load, sometimes Wikipedia articles (China, Tiananmen Square, etc.) would appear to start loading slowly (the top parts of the page would show) before suddenly cutting off and showing 'Connection Reset'. I don't know how that worked because usually browsers just show you a half page if the connection is lost, but in China the page would just disappear.
You don't need to be doing anything questionable to feel the bite of the GFW, webpages with Facebook like buttons are enough to cause a 30 second delay while the connection times out in the background before the site loads.
The censorship occurs at the TCP level, which is why pretty much only a VPN will help.
It's weird how two regions connected by a subway system can be so different from one another, and yet still be the same country. My wife is a Chinese citizen but needs a visa to go to Hong Kong... as an American I don't but I need a visa to go to mainland PRC. Fun!
Once it's okay'ed, it'll load instantly the next time.
Seriously.