Just flew MU/China Eastern PVG-HKG. My thoughts:

1. use the kiosk for check-in - it avoids a potentially huge line in the HK/Macau/TW check-in area, and no one will see your carry-on bag

2. boarding is a scrum - it will be hard for the agent to inspect your bag when 100 people rush the door together, or worse, pour out of the bus and rush the stairs for a remote-stand flight

3. I noticed people carrying very large bags - however my remote-stand flight boarded in half the time a US flight typically takes, big bags and all. The difference is cultural - in the USA, when some damn fool stands in the aisle staring at the ceiling because they can't find their row or a place for their bag, everyone backs up behind them - in China, they just get physically shoved out of the way and boarding continues

4. FWIW, my crew served a full A320 hot meals, beverage service and ice cream in less time than a typical US crew takes to do one beverage and pretzel service

5. The terminal MU uses is awful - very few services especially airside - however from kiosk to security to passport control to gate only took about 10 minutes, so you don't need to linger too long