FOREIGNERS SHUN BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITIES FOR RURAL CHARMS

More expats seeking authenticity, peacefulness in lower-tier metropolises, country areas

Foreigners settling in China are increasingly turning their backs on bustling metropolises for the simplicity, authenticity and affordability of lower-tier cities and rural areas, statistics show.

As of 2020, there were approximately 846,000 foreign nationals living on the Chinese mainland, a 42.42 percent increase from 2010, according to the Seventh National Population Census published by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2021.

Yunnan province alone accounted for 376,000 long-term foreign residents. One of them is Patrik Bachstatter, a 33-year-old Swedish expatriate who has found not just a home but a new calling in the ancient town of Dali, far from the expat enclaves of Beijing and Shanghai.