12 October 2026
A ranking is an answer to one question
The lists went up today. This note is the instruction printed on the box.
Shanghai is first on the first-trip list because a short visit survives contact with the city: the flight, the metro, the hotels that already register foreign passports. It is not first because it is the most Chinese, the cheapest, or the best place to live.
If your question is food, start on the food list, where Chengdu is allowed to beat Shanghai. If your question is a published cost band, start on the value list, and then check a live hotel rate. Using the first-trip list to pick a cheap year abroad will pick the wrong city.
- MethodThe three questions
- First tripThe order