Rapid Travel Chai

Not Beijing, not Shanghai, not even export powerhouse Guangzhou.

The 10 richest Chinese cities are small to mid-size (by Chinese standards), in the export hubs of the east and south coasts, with one exception at #1, Karamay, far in resource-rich Xinjiang. In these regions there are whole villages that struck it rich back in the days of Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs).

China Expat, the wittiest publication from an accounting consultancy, assembled pithy capsules on China’s Ten Richest Cities.

Suzhou, Changzhou, and Wuxi track the Yangtze River between Nanjing and Shanghai.

Zhoushan, Zhongshan, Foshan, Zhuhai, Foshan and Dongguan are export titans in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta, bordering Hong Kong.

Wenzhou is the exporter to beat all exporters, on China’s southeast coast, with good access to the soaring peaks of Yandangshan.

The fuel of China's economy, Wenzhou, photo by Malcolm M

Yangdangshan, photo by Jan Christian Teller

Karamay is the only one of the ten that The Rapid Traveler has not visited. Must be rectified.

The article is a hoot, for Zhongshan they write:

Why You Should Visit: Wide, leafy boulevards, hot springs, eco-parks. And don’t forget the lamp museum!

For Karamay:

Should You Live There? Heavens no. Not for any but noble reasons, at least.

For Dongguan:

Why It’s Rich: The last pearl on the Ten Richest Cities list, Dongguan is behind only Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Shanghai in sheer volumes of cheap crap shipped abroad. As long as there are semi-employable Americans mumbling “Welcome to Walmart,” Dongguan will be making bank.