Chengde, China

Tourism anchored to the UNESCO-listed Mountain Resort and the Eight Outer Temples drives a growing share of Chengde's economy, pulling in domestic Chinese visitors by the millions during summer and Golden Week holidays. Steel, cement, and coal remain significant employers, though environmental crackdowns have forced restructuring and some plant closures. For foreign workers, the job market is thin — English teaching is the realistic entry point, and even that demand is modest compared to Tier 1 cities. Remote workers with income from outside China will find the low cost of living compelling; locals earning locally face a tighter picture.

A two-bedroom apartment in a decent residential area runs roughly ¥1,500–2,500/month ($210–350 USD), and daily food costs are low if you eat local. Beijing is 225 km away with rail connections, but the journey still takes 2–3 hours depending on the service, so treating it as a casual day trip gets old fast. Healthcare is functional at the city level but limited in specialist care — serious medical issues mean a trip to Beijing. Mandarin is essentially unavoidable here; English signage and speakers are rare outside tourist zones. Bureaucracy for foreign residents follows standard Chinese visa and registration procedures, which are genuinely tedious.

Winters are brutal — January averages −9.3°C with dry, cutting winds — and summers are hot and humid with most of the year's 504mm of rain falling in concentrated bursts. The upside: the imperial park and surrounding mountains make weekends genuinely scenic, with hiking, cycling, and temple visits that don't feel performative. The expat community is small enough that you'll know everyone within a month, which is either cozy or claustrophobic depending on your personality. Food is northern Chinese — hearty, meat-heavy, cheap — with almost no international dining options. This city suits a remote worker or early retiree who wants dramatic scenery, very low costs, and doesn't need a social scene built around other foreigners.