Your City Match: Dongguan

  Population: 8.3 million

  Average Wage: $9,118/year

  Air Quality Index: 65 (moderate)

  Migrant Percentage: 74.1%

Dongguan, located about an hour and half north of Shenzhen, is one of the most important manufacturing hubs in the world. The city has perhaps the highest concentration of electronics manufacturers and suppliers in the world and is a must-go destination for multinationals that need to source from China. Global companies such as DuPont, Samsung, Nokia, Coca-Cola, and Nestlé have manufacturing facilities in the area. Since 2005, Dongguan has focused on pivoting away from an export-driven economy to investing in the city’s technology infrastructure. As a result of this shift, Dongguan has partnered with the Global IT Academy and other technology organizations to attract new businesses and talent.

The city also has fervent basketball fans and has earned the moniker “National Basketball City.” The local team, Guangdong Southern Tigers, has won multiple Chinese basketball championships and received international attention in 2007 when its star Yi Jianlian was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks. Dongguan has invested in a new 16,000-seat basketball stadium, and it boasts more than 10,000 basket courts scattered across the city and suburbs.