I did not grow up in China, but I lived close enough to China that I can shed some light in their educational system.
Kids start competing with each other since kindergarten. Kindergarten requires entrance exam. If you get into a good kindergarten, you will be "settled" for a while (until 6th grade in my case). Parents teach their kids very early, so that they will get in good schools. Kids go to schools (academic based play groups) before they are 2 years old. Throughout their education, there are public exams to shuffle the students and move them to different school according to their test results. These public exams put a lot of pressure on students and these exams make you truly feel like "life or death". Some kids kill themselves because they did not make it to the best schools.
Some people call their educational method "stuffing duck", meaning you are not required to understand, but just learn it, memorize it and do not forget. Schools use very little manipulatives. Students learn everything from books with explanation from teachers. Then they practice, practice and practice.
Teachers are very strict. They are not your friend and would not behave like one. Teachers here in US are friendly. They joke around with you. They also use different ways to make learning fun. This won't happen where I grew up.
Someone here said Chinese do not question anything. It is true because if you question something or someone, you would be labeled a trouble maker. Also , you are taught not to question throughout your education. "Your teacher is always right," my parents always tell me. "Not to question" is part of the culture.
Scholarships are for scholars, meaning if you get enough A's in your public exams, you will get it. I haven't heard of any scholarship for sport achievements.
Schools split into science, art and business track in 10th grade. You are required to make a decision what you want to be in the future. Calculus starts in the 10th grade in science track. By 11th grade, you have learned an equivalent to the first year of calculus in college. There is a big public exam at the end of 11th grade. I remember I had to stay up late and work very hard to pass the exam.
This is my experience growing up. In my personal opinion, I don't think the education in China is superior to the education here. There are certainly some good things about that system that we can learn from, but I believe students here know how to think, reason and question, and that's what make American the way we are.
