[Gryphone]

Since I have a China Mobile prepaid card myself, I can answer some of your question, however mine belongs to Shanghai, so there might be some differences.

Originally Posted by EllasDevil

China must work similar to India where your mobile belongs to a circle (home region) and then you're technically roaming when you use the mobile elsewhere in the country.

Both China Mobile and China Unicom have a network covering most of Red China, so technically you're always on your home network. However, you're still paying roaming charges outside your home region.

I've bought a China Mobile (中国移动通信) sim card with a Beijing number (starting off there) but I believe it'll still cost me to recieve calls? Is this correct?

As far as I can tell: no. In Shanghai I could receive calls free of charge, no matter where the originated.

Will China Mobile require any personal information when it comes to activating the sim card? If so, what information?

They don't need any information or ID from you at all.

Do China Mobile sms's send/recieve OK to Europe? (I assume they do)

There are a few networks where you may experience problems, but generally it should work, yes.

I believe China Mobile won't offer prepaid roaming in Hong Kong? Is this correct? If so, it's no big deal. I'll just roam with my home sim card.

Roaming can only be activated when you fullfil several conditions, one of them is having been a customer for at least a year.

How easy is it to recharge the accounts? Am I likely to face language barrier problems or do they offer any instructions in English?

Instructions are mostly in Chinese. The account server at 10086 may be switched to English (with pretty bad pronounciation though).

You can also check this thread where I have already gathered some information.