Recently the East Asian Studies faculty gave workshop on conducting fieldwork in East Asia, I hope you had a chance to attend and learn about the wide range of fieldwork that they conduct. Did it inspire you to try doing some of your own? 

Your program in China may require you to do an independent research project that will include some fieldwork. If so, they will provide guidance and oversight. But, you should also talk to your professors here about your interests and what kind of research you could conduct while you are in China. Perhaps it would just be collecting information. But you might also want to make a video diary of your experiences, or do something more formal like: investigate urban renewal in a particular area, record street food offerings and prices, interview a particular group of people... 

Here is one example of a young sociologist Tricia Wang, who conducted fieldwork in China. She studies global technology among migrant workers. She maintains a blog called Bytes of China, where she writes about "following students and migrants as they process information and desire, remaking cities and rural areas". 

Here is a blog by a Providence College student who did a project on ecotourism. 

http://blogs.sit.edu/sitstudyabroad/2012/10/25/firsthand-encounters-a-glimpse-at-real-china/