Karamay, China

With a population of just 490,348, Karamay is a remote outpost in China's far northwest, dominated by the oil industry and battered by an unforgiving desert climate. The city's GDP per capita of ¥242,391 (US$34,901) may seem impressive, but the harsh realities of living in this isolated, resource-extraction hub quickly become apparent. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, and the long, severely cold winters with brief spring and autumn in between make for a challenging lifestyle. This is no place for the faint of heart - Karamay is best suited for those drawn to the rugged, industrial nature of China's frontier regions.