Xinxiang, China

With over 6.2 million residents, Xinxiang is an industrial powerhouse in northern Henan - but the reality on the ground is far from idyllic. The city's air quality is among the worst in China, with PM2.5 levels over 11 times the WHO's safe limit. Bureaucracy is a persistent headache, as demonstrated by repeated government crackdowns on tainted wheat crops. Yet, for those undaunted by the environmental and administrative challenges, Xinxiang offers an affordable base in the heartland of China's economic rise.