Junlian, China

With a population of just 328,000, Junlian is a small county in China's Sichuan province. Though billed as an important coal mining hub, the reality is a sleepy backwater with a heavy bureaucratic presence. Junlian's specialty cuisine, including Sichuan peppercorn chicken and Junlian noodles, offers some culinary appeal, but the climate is unremarkable and the wildlife limited to a local odorous frog species. For those seeking an authentic, untouched slice of rural China, Junlian may fit the bill, but it's hardly a destination that will excite most foreign visitors.