I used to walk off of flights intra-China on a fairly regular basis. I.e. when it becomes apparent that the delay situation is likely to be severe enough to cause me to miss my meetings, I simply give up. This is a bit hard to pull off at remote stands, but not impossible (i.e. they will send a car to the plane if you stand firm in your demands). Thankfully, ATC delays aren't nearly as bad as they used to be and the HSR is increasingly useful so these problems aren't as common any more.