First time I visited China 5 years ago, I went to Mudajiang in Heilongjiang province, visiting a friend.  Stopping in Beijing a met a girl at the airport who wanted to know where I am going.  Turned out she was going to Mudanjiang too and when we started chatting, it turned out she went to the same school and lived in the same street as my friend.  I couldn't believe it and phoned my friend, giving the phone to the girl.  The story was true indeed.

I had another incident a few years later in Hong Kong, when I met a group of South Africans.  One of them turned out to be a family member of a colleague I worked with in the Pacific, whom I also happened to run into in Brisbane once.  Really small world.

Yes, it really is a small world sometimes.

I had only been in China about two weeks, was in a bar feeling like I was just about as far from home as it was possible to be and I met another foreigner. Turns out he'd lived a few blocks away from me about two years previously. We used to drink in the same pubs and very likely walked past each other never realizing we'd meet in China.

I just found out the other day that he is back home and living really close to where I plan to be before this time next year. I bet I see him in a bar somewhere.

I met this guy in a bar and we started chatting. It turns out that he is from Foreignerland as well. So strange how two people from such a small village could end up meeting in a big place like China!

For me, it's wechat.

You add someone you just met in another city, then a few weeks later you discover you have friends in common.

Almost from the first week I was here. I was told we have a new teacher in from the UK, want to come to dinner to meet him? Ok. Turns out he's from London, and so I always ask "who do you go for?" He, too, is a Spurs supporter! Rarer than people from my hometown in China!!!

Speaking of which,there are a large number of Aussies hanging out here in Hangzhou... and a few come from Bris-vegas,  and mostly the southern side, so chatting about local shopping centres is easy

But the biggest slap in the face co-incidence was a Chinese guy I met at my local bus-stop. He starts chatting (which annoys me) but his English is pretty good. He'd used to live within about 500m of me back home... and about the same time... that was a bit weird! He had a business there, but found my city "too quiet" (only about 2-3 million of us there....)

Very recently, when I was going to go from Guangzhou to London, in the departures waiting area, I saw somebody who looked familiar. Turned out it was a school friend who I had not seen since was 11 because his family moved to Australia. He was traveling from London to Melbourne via Guangzhou. Weird, would be an understatement.

I've probably told this one before but here goes....I'm from a small mill town to the east of Manchester. Moved in the late 90's to the Isle of Man. Kept in touch with old mates via phone and Facebook but didn't see them much. One old mate from school (I was best man at his wedding) came over to the island for my 40th birthday but apart from that didn't see him much. 

I then started to come to GZ on business trips and on one of the early ones left my UK SIM card in my phone. Got a drunken call from him one early evening and asked him what he was up to. He was drunk in a Chinese bar in Zhongshan while I was in GZ! Both amazed the other one was in China. 

he still lives in Zhongshan & me in GZ so we hang around together about once a month. Known him 39 years now and still good buddies. 

Got one more.....relating to ScotsAlan. We both joined the same company back in the late 90's, me on the Isle of Man, Alan in Chester though he was soon moved over to the island. Got to know him as he was manufacturing engineer in one of the factories and I worked on product improvements. We both like a beer and have similar political views so became mates. I came to GZ before him and the company rented an apartment for me near the factory. Alan had already met his wife to be and when he came over to get married they both stayed with me in the week before the wedding in the company rented apartment. 

I then left that job for another in GZ as Alan was moving out here so the company gave him my old apartment to live. Alan and his wife are still good friends to this day (meeting him in about an hour for a day out!). 

The coincidence? Alan & his wife now own the apartment where they first stayed with me the week before their wedding. 

want a weird coincidence? (shh!,, nothing about china)
I was walking down some street in the French Quarter, N'awlins around Mardi Gras when I suddenly reached out and grabbed by the arm a guy walking past me... I said... 'You're R***y R******x' ! He totally tripped out,,, we had attended school together in Aberdeen, Scotland about 10 years earlier and had not had any contact with one another since that time.
*and neither of us even lived in New Orleans~

There was this one coincidence I overheard.

These two guys were in a pub. One ordered a drink, and the other noticed his accent.

"Where are you from?"

"Ireland," the guy says.

"Really? Me too. Let's drink to Ireland." So they both had a drink.

The first one asks, "What part of Ireland?"

"Derry."

"Feck me! I'm also from Derry. Drink to Derry"

"What school did you go to?"

"Saint Mary's"

"Me too!! I was class of '62."

"That can't be! I was class of '62 also!" They had a drink to Saint Mary's.

Astonished, I remarked on the coincidence to the bartender. However, he just shook his head and, sighing, told me, "The O'Malley twins are drunk again."

When I was about 8 years old I was on a boat in Hong Kong. A random guy noticed my Scottish accent and we started talking. It turned out that not only were we from the same town but he lived across the street from me. Spooky!