The only thing you can find online is usually catering to rich western tourists or "expats" and usually boils down to "Which place is the most western/ High GDP and McDonalds!" so I'd rather get an opinion from someone that's been there that isn't a business tourist.

  • pooh [she/her, love/loves]
    ·
    3 months ago

    I've only been to Chengdu, which I thought was fantastic. Weather seemed decent, has excellent food, beautiful natural scenery nearby, amazing museums/history, pandas, Sichuan opera, extremely friendly people, and it also has a reputation for being the gayest city in China:

    A healthy work/life balance is a signature of the Chengdunese; and that laid-back approach is present in every aspect of life there—including social mores. It confers on the locals a reputation for tolerance that has helped its LGBTQ+ population feel more comfortable being open and out. “It’s the lifestyle here—people don’t work so hard, they’re outdoors all the time,” says Kurt Macher, the openly gay general manager of the Temple House. “People look at you here, they smile and they don’t care. I see many gay Chinese couples walking down by the river, hand in hand, and I’ve never seen that in Beijing, Shanghai, or even in Hong Kong.”

    Also, while I think it is a tourist hub for people in China (especially the panda research center), I saw no other westerners the whole time I was there, so you're unlikely to see anything specifically catering to expats like you described.