(Long-term Updating) Chinese Cities

Just been back from a long trip to Europe. I enjoyed traveling, but might be kind of different from the mainstream tourism: I don’t spend much time in the famous spots, instead I like to walk around the small streets and alleys to understand the local life.

The trip is mainly in Rende, Italy, where I attended ICLP this year, followed by days in Naples, Rome, and visiting University of Bristol in the UK (thanks to Prof. Meng Wang’s invitation), finally ended by London+Milan. I’m feeling pretty lucky to have the chance for visiting different places: actually having been to about 20 countries (and regions).

When I visit London, it’s good to have a chance to meet Vova there. Actually he pointed out one interesting argument: Moscow is the best city to live in Europe. It might be true. Even if I have heard of some negative comments about Moscow from tourists, I never think a good city for living must be a good city for tourism. It gives me a chance to think more about what makes a city good for living.

Actually from some time ago, I have been listing a TO-VISIT list of cities in China. I have been to many cities in China, but giving me seveal months, I really think that spending time deeply in some cities is a good idea.

Today I put the list here, partially for pushing myself to think about “what’s my personal standard for a good city for living”. Didn’t include those have been to (deeply) or some that are hard to live in for long term (e.g., Tibet, Xinjiang). To avoid ambiguity, I use Chinese for city names.

Northeastern

长春，延吉

沈阳，抚顺，大连

Jin Chinese area

保定

大同，太原

包头，呼市

Southwestern

自贡，乐山

贵？

重庆

腾冲，昆明

Southern

玉林 柳州

顺德 湛江

澳门

泉州 霞浦 莆田

Central Remaining (Central Plains Mandarin+Lower Yangtze Mandarin areas)

开封 郑州

襄阳 荆州

常德津市 衡阳

六安 淮南 合肥

青岛 济南 潍坊

淮安盱眙 扬州高邮 南京 徐州邳州

The list is somehow based on food. From the high-level perspective, I do put climate and cuisine as the two most important factors. But what else? I should take more time to think about what’s going to be the tradeoffs. The summary on visited cities should also be updated later, but so far I only have points instead of synthesised arguments.