DalianDalian.com

A while back, I tried to answer a simple question people often asked me about Dalian: How many people live there?

Simple question, tough answer. Alex found a good dataset, which we put on DalianDalian. Well, the question has come back.

I’m writing a cover story on real estate in China’s second-tier cities for an investment newsletter, and as part of the project, I’ve decided to compile a database of locales, most of which people outside of China have likely never heard (admittedly, there are some I couldn’t have put on a map before starting this piece).

I have a spreadsheet defining cities, provinces, regions, population, major industries, notable real estate and other notes. Most of that information is widely available, especially since these cities are now making a major push for investment. But population has proven tricky. For the map I’ll eventually build off this database, I think I’m going to attach the following disclaimer/explainer:

Counting how many people live in any Chinese city is an imperfect science. For this dataset, we’ve relied on a variety of sources, including government websites, published reports and other online resources.

Part of the problem is the population itself. Chinese cities have been undergoing a massive growth spurt since 1978, when the government first began letting people move to urban areas en masse. Most of this movement is legal, and counted in official surveys. Residents register with local authorities in order to receive government services, such as health and education. But unofficial migration is also widespread, and most cities have large segments that remain uncounted (and unserved).

Further blurring statistics is the way a city is defined. In Dalian, for example, the urban center–what might be called the city proper–is home to about 2 million people. Add in the surrounding “towns” such as Zhuanghe (pop. 700,000) or Pulandian (pop. 900,000)–both of which are a mix of city and countryside–and the total is above 6 million. Different sources count different areas, making a definitive number hard to come by.

This is a long way of saying: Take these numbers with a grain of salt, and please, forgive us if you’ve seen a different number elsewhere.

How’s it sound?

Late spring means its time to start thinking about next school year. Over the past few weeks, I've been getting emails from people in and out of China asking whether they should move to Dalian. What are the highlights? What was your biggest frustration? Can I do something besides teach?

The short answer to all this is, yes, Dalian's a fine city to live in. For most people.

• The Clean City

  Dalian is one of the cleanest cities in China. That might not mean much to our Canadian friends from the pristine north (proud and free), but spend a week in Beijing, and you'll appreciate the almost-blueness of the sky.
  
  In the 1990s, Dalian shifted from industrial to high-tech, and its environment benefited tremendously. Bo Xilai, the mayor at the time, had a thing for tree-lined streets, and the major thoroughfares are richer for it. Add in a coastal breeze, and it's a downright pleasant place, most of the time.

• The Windy City

  Those pleasant coastal breezes only really stay pleasant in the spring and fall. In Winter, they turn into icy Siberian gusts: face-numbing, finger-throbbing, downright horrid.
  
  Buy warm clothes.

• The Tech City

  Several emailers asked about jobs other than teaching. Because who wouldn't want to spend the rest of their time in China trying to manage a group of 20-somethings who really need to pass a mysterious test much more than they need to learn a language, or better yet, a pile of toddlers whose parents insist being near a foreigner will make them instantly bilingual? So, yes, there are other jobs out there.
  
  As I said above, Dalian went high-tech in the '90s. Specifically, it's an outsourcing hub. What Bangalore is to the United States, Dalian is to Japan. There's a host of companies based in the city, mostly in the Dalian Software Park, the High Tech Zone and the Development Zone. Intel is also building a fabrication plant north of the city proper.
  
  If you have skills in IT, business, communications, or something remotely related, you just may be qualified to join the ranks of former English teachers now gainfully employed in real jobs.

Did I miss anything?

Probably. But I'm just getting things started here. Add your own questions or answers in the comments..