Basuo, China

Capital City

The population of 167,636 may seem large, but Basuo is a sleepy port town on the western coast of Hainan Province. Its main claim to fame is as the outlet for the nearby Shilu iron ore mine, with a narrow-gauge railway connecting the two. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, as Basuo was one of the landing zones for communist forces during the Chinese Civil War in 1950. Overall, this is a quiet, industrial outpost best suited for those seeking a slower pace of life, away from the crowds of China's megacities.