In any case, milk has water. Milk is indeed made up of about 85-90 percent water. The 10-15 percent left is made of fat (unless it is skimmed), protein, and other nutrients like calcium, vitamins A, B6, B12 and D, Potassium, Selenium, Niacin, Thiamin, and Riboflavin.

Now, according to what kind of milk you buy, some companies (especially Chinese companies) will add water in the milk and some other chemical stuff (non labelled) to make the milk looks like thicker (like they did before with melanine). A higher price you pay for the milk doesn't necessarily mean that the milk is of better quality.

Except for the chemical products they may add on the milk, you can see if the milk contains too much water by using one of this metal knitting needles. You put the needle in the milk, turn it upside down and look how fast the milk goes down. The faster it goes, the more water you have, the slower it goes, the more creamy the milk is.

They use a different pasteurization process in China. It provides for a longer shelf-life (in a country where milk isn't nearly as popular) but leaves a much more bland, watery taste. They called it "ultra-pasteurized" although the proper term escapes me.

I thought they liked to cut the milk with Melamine here to increase profitability...

I wouldn't put it past Chinese manufacturers to water down their milk. Strange taste could come from tainted water or other substance or possibly from whatever the cow has been eating. If the cow has been eating polluted food then the toxins will end up in the milk which is slowly KILLING YOU. Sleep tight.

Just buy plain milk, in longlife cartons. You can buy Australian milk in most large supermarkets. Unless they have a way of opening up the carton it should be the real deal and has been whenever I have tried it. Then use the plain milk to make lots of different flovoured drinks. Some drinks that taste great and are pretty healthy (use skim or low fat milk also available in longlife if you want to be even healthier) are:
Fruit smoothies. In a blender (can also use a wisker) place some milk, a bannana, some honey and you can add ice cream or yoghurt as well and blend. Sensational also with strawberry, mango or any other sweet fruit.
Chocolate milkshake Just add some chocolate flavour and ice cream to very cold milk and shake till frothy. Can use ant flavour eg strawberry, caramel, vanila or Milo etc.
Iced Coffee. Mely some instant coffee and sugar in a little hot water. Add cold milk.
Egg Flip. Mix and egg and some honey or vanilla flovouring with milk. Shake well. Sprinkle a little nutmeg on top.

The milk here is made from powder, it is not fresh at all. I grew up on cows milk, but at times we had powdered milk. It must have something to do with longevity and the lack of refrigeration. If you go to Northern Australia Darwin, Gulf Country etc, the milk is the same. I suppose powered milk is easier to transport and handle. I would love a bottle of milk with cream on the top!!

Alex66 the longlife milk in China fron Aussie companies is not made from powder and anyone who thinks that fresh milk is not available in Darwin is wrong, sorry but true. Also long life milk is available in every corner of Australia. The only thing I agree with you is that it would be nice to have a bottle of milk with cream on top, but I would guess it has been at least 20 to 30 years since that was even available in Australia.
I have purchased long life milk in China and it is packaged in Australia. AGAIN I will tell you that long life milk is NOT made from powder. It is exactly the same as fresh milk except.

Taken from the Australian dairy industry website:
Ultra Heat Treated (UHT) or long life milk contains all the nutritional goodness that you would expect from any Australian dairy product and contains no additives or preservatives. Like fresh milk, long life milk is a rich source of over ten essential nutrients including:

calcium
phosphorus
potassium
riboflavin
potassium
vitamins A and B12
magnesium
carbohydrate
protein and,
zinc.
The difference between fresh and long life milk is the method of processing. Fresh (pasteurised) milk is heated to 74°C for 15 seconds. Long life milk is heated to 140°C for two seconds and then packaged aseptically. The increased temperature at which long life milk is treated results in a greater reduction in bacteria and heat resistant enzymes in comparison to milk that undergoes pasteurisation – giving it an extended shelf life.