I often get the same feeling - I think it's just what happens when we become used to our surroundings though I do think the general grind of life here does sap inspiration and excitement to an extent. For me, I try to focus on the quirky, creative side of things here and go to as many gigs, art shows, and stand-up performances as I can. I think the creative boom (at least the one in Beijing) has been one of the main reasons I've stayed here. There's always travel as well - it's good to have a couple of days break in the mountains or wherever to recharge and appreciate the country while you can. 

I've been feeling the same way lately. My advice: Go home for a while until you get the itch to come back.

Over the past few months I've had several friends visit who previously lived here (and all ended up hating it near the end of their stays) and they've all had an amazing time back.

The first time this happened, I was pretty surprised, although now the 3rd person to tell me how great it is to be back and how much they missed it, and I'm beginning to think that maybe you need to detoxify yourself (figuratively and literally) to get that excited feeling back.

Best of luck.

Great topic to talk about.  I've also been in a rut for about 6 months now.  I'm just no longer excited about anything in China any more, it's just became a place to eat, sleep, work, and pay bills it seems.

Traveling to other parts of China can help a bit but even that has worn off on me and now everywhere in China just feels the same.

Someone else posted some great advice, leave China for awhile and if/when you get that itch to come back you will have some of that excitement feeling when you get back, although I do think it wears off a lot quicker since you've already been here.

This might be silly but one thing I do sometimes just to get that excitement "wow where am I" feeling back is I'll go to a random place and hop on a random bus and just go wherever it takes me. Sometimes I end up in some interesting new areas, other times it ends up being a waste of time.

It's been almost a year since I left China, and I'm starting to just remember all the good stuff and almost feel like I want to go back. Almost. I miss my friends. There was some great food. I loved the scenery. But then I remember that I don't care for the working environment, so I avoid applying to jobs in China. However, I would definitely like to visit China again, maybe in 2014. I'm pretty sure I have to get the visa while I'm in America, so that doesn't give me many options if I'm teaching in other countries.

spend a year in north korea. china will feel like heaven

^_^