I have been curious at times to figure that out but lack of time and the contradictory figures are a real deterrent. According to recent figures in China Daily, there are right now about 150,000 “foreigners” holding legal employment contracts. So, add the family. But wait, does it include our Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau compatriots? Well… who knows, sometimes they are foreigners, sometimes they are not. I remember some figures that in East China there would about 500,000 Taiwanese. Then we have the “official’ students, somewhere around 150,000. And the diplomats. But when one looks closer, like how many Japanese and (South) Koreans are in China, it all falls apart. Of course we still have legions of “II” here (Illegal Immigrants), people who simply live and work in China without the proper visas. So, I guess nobody knows. My very wild guess would be we have at least one million of “non-Chinese passport holders” in China on a semi-permanent basis.
Otherwise, where do all those people come from filling Sanlitun and other bar areas? Let’s go and have a beer and count them.