Someone gave me a useful piece of advice about driving in China. In England (and I assume his is true about most of the west, though I wonder about the French sometimes), the general rule is "mirror-signal-maneuvre." What this means is that you're aware of what's going on either side and behind you, and move when it's clear.
By all accounts, this might be the totally wrong thing to do in China. In China, the rule seems to be that you need to be aware of what your peripheral vision is telling you, but don't worry what's going on either side (or behind) you all that much because it means you aren't concentrating what's going on in front of you, and that's where your eyes should be.
Personally, this seems to make complete sense, because it'd explain why they all drive like loons here without crashing.
thoughtful