--Character dictionary (comes in handy when you have no idea what they're saying, they have no idea what you're saying...even when it's Mandarin Chinese, on menus when there's no translation, and when you're at places like the train station that aren't written in pinyin.)
--Swiss Army knife (with scissors...you will love the scissors especially when trying to open sealed plastic food packages)
--Ziploc bags...their value is immeasurable
--Soap...to wash your hands with...liquid is better so that you can use it to wash your clothes in a tough spot...don't just bring hand sanitizer...you need actual soap.
--Kleenex packets...holy shit am I happy I brought those, especially when there's no TP (and for all the Brits...TP=toilet paper! yeah, for some reason they don't use the abbreviation TP.)
--A pair of jeans. I don't care what anyone says about people in China not wearing jeans. They do, and trust me, you'll want a pair.
--Sneakers...I had to buy mine, but you could just bring them with you and forget the hassle of buying them. Very handy to have around when your hiking boots have given you the worst shin splints on the planet.
--Consider taking a suitcase instead of a backpack. I love my backpack, but I stood out like a sore thumb in China.
--Camelback water pouch and backpack. If you are doing any hiking at all, this is a MUST.
--November in China is about freezing. It warms up during the day, but because there is no heat until the middle of Nov., bring warm things...this is what I packed and it's working well: wool sweater, long-sleeve shirt made of synthetic wicking material, gloves, hat, scarf, wool socks, and long johns/hose/long underwear.
--Flip flops. Personally, I like taking showers in my flip flops in communal showers. This may be a bit Victorian, but think about how grossed out you are. I'm easily grossed out.
--Comfort food. I read when people said bring comfort food and I thought, nah, that won't be me. Thank goodness Robert insisted that I pack some chocolate. Today, after coming off the mountain, eating my chocolate from home was like having sex.
--Handkerchief. You'll need this to breathe. Sometimes it's really hard to breathe if you are used to clean air.
--Tiger Balm...or something for your sore muscles.
--Small notebook to write names/notes in.
--Ball point pen(s)
--small nalgene bottle for trains...they give you hot water for free...so if you have some tea leaves to put in, it's perfect. You can also buy small glass bottles here to put tea in...They come with a built-in strainer. You see everyone walking around with them...as I suppose people are drinking either tea or their TCM formula to cure god knows what.
--deodorant
--some sort of "wipes". I abhor the "baby wipe" scent...but there's got to be another kind. These will come in handy after your third day of not taking a shower with no chance of one in sight.

Tips
**by the way, stop smoking before you come to China. There¡¯s so much coal soot and other people's second-hand smoke, you'd be better off saving your lungs the double dose.
**learn some Chinese phrases/words before you go:
I don't want/I want, I don't like/I like, drink, eat, toilets, How do you say _____ in Chinese?, I don't speak very well, do you speak English?, I don't speak Chinese, a little, the numbers...1-10 and hand signs that go with them, what time is it?, train, train station, bus, I have/I don't have, meat. Also, it's handy to learn how many strokes are in a character so that you can look them up. Try getting a workbook to practice Chinese characters and you will become almost instantly familiar with how many strokes are in a character.
**Be very careful when crossing the street. There is no "pedestrian right-of-way" in some county towns.
**Bring your cell phone. It's very cheap for people to call you internationally when you buy them an "Asia Love" card...a card that only calls China/HK. And the sim card is cheap as well. It's easy to reload your cell phone with minutes by buying a China Mobile card for however much you want...like 100 yuan.