Jiyuan, China

Coal, aluminum, and steel built this city and still run it. Jiyuan's economy is anchored in heavy industry — mining operations, chemical plants, power generation facilities, and metal processing that date back to Soviet-influenced development in the 1950s. For expats, meaningful white-collar employment is essentially nonexistent outside of English teaching, which pays roughly 8,000–12,000 RMB/month at local schools. Remote workers are the only other realistic category. The surrounding rural economy produces wheat, corn, and peanuts, but that won't intersect with your working life.

A one-bedroom in the city center runs around $420/month, and you can find decent places outside the center for $250–300. Local food and transport are cheap — city buses cost under $0.30 a ride. Healthcare access is functional at the city hospital level but limited for anything complex; expect to travel to Zhengzhou, about 120km east, for specialist care. The language barrier is severe and largely non-negotiable: English proficiency here is minimal even among younger residents, and all bureaucracy — residency registration, banking, utilities — operates entirely in Mandarin with no accommodation for foreigners.

Winters are cold and dry, dropping below freezing regularly from December through February; summers are hot and humid with temperatures pushing 35°C. Air quality follows the industrial economy — it's not good, and that's worth taking seriously long-term. The food scene is honest northern Chinese cooking: hand-pulled noodles, braised meat, flatbreads. There is no meaningful expat community here, no international bars, no English-language social infrastructure. Weekends mean hiking in the nearby Taihang Mountains or day-tripping to Luoyang. This city suits Mandarin-speaking remote workers or teachers who want extremely low costs and don't need an expat social scene to feel grounded.