Originally Posted by boat stuck

It's pretty easy to be a Wannabe Eileen these days.

Be born in the US to at least 1 Chinese citizen parent who does NOT have a green card (so in the US on a visitor's visa or work visa) at the time of your birth. You'll get a US birth certificate, a US passport, and a Chinese Travel Document (which is proof of Chinese citizenship) that can use used to enter China and get hukou and live/work in China indefinitely. It used to be that you can't get the Chinese Travel Document renewed after age 18, but recently Chinese consulates have started renewing the Chinese Travel Document regardless of the age of the applicant. So if you're born in the right circumstance, you can get and keep dual US/Chinese citizenship for life.

The one caveat is that if you live in China long-term, you'll have to leave China every 2 years to renew the Chinese Travel Document, which can only be issued by a Chinese consulate overseas. Not sure if Hong Kong works for that purpose. Still, way easier than any other option.