Chefushan, China

Agriculture, coal mining, and light manufacturing drive most of the local economy here — and that tells you a lot about who earns a living in Pizhou. Ginkgo and dawn redwood cultivation, grain farming, and small-scale processing plants employ the bulk of the workforce. There are no major multinationals, no tech campuses, no English-language job market to speak of. Remote workers with foreign income are essentially the only expats who could make this work financially; local salaries run well below Jiangsu's provincial average, reflecting its status as one of the poorer county-level cities in an otherwise wealthy province.

Rent is genuinely cheap — a decent two-bedroom apartment runs roughly ¥800–1,200/month ($110–165 USD), and daily food costs can sit under ¥50 if you eat local. Public transport within the city is limited to buses and e-bikes; the Longhai Railway connects you to Xuzhou in under an hour for regional access. Healthcare means a county hospital with adequate basic care but limited specialist capacity — serious conditions require a trip to Xuzhou or beyond. Mandarin is non-negotiable: English is essentially nonexistent here, and bureaucratic processes like residence registration will require either fluency or a patient local contact.

Four distinct seasons means hot, humid summers pushing 35°C and cold winters that dip below freezing — not the mild year-round climate that draws most expats to China. The 60-kilometer dawn redwood avenue is genuinely impressive and worth the visit, but weekend options are thin: local parks, hotpot restaurants, and day trips to Xuzhou. There is no meaningful expat community here — you will likely be the only foreigner in your neighborhood. This city suits one narrow profile: a Mandarin-speaking remote worker or retiree who wants rock-bottom costs, genuine immersion in rural Chinese life, and zero interest in an expat social scene.