NavoyNostos

Dalian vs Nanning

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Nanning edges it, 53 to 51, winning 2 of the 9 factors. Dalian is stronger on nothing outright; Nanning on climate. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Cost of living: 4.9 of 51 points (scores 44/100)Safety: 8.4 of 51 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 9.2 of 51 points (scores 83/100)Internet: 6.3 of 51 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 1.7 of 51 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 4.6 of 51 points (scores 41/100)Climate: 3.7 of 51 points (scores 33/100)Air quality: 5.8 of 51 points (scores 52/100)Quality of life: 6.4 of 51 points (scores 58/100)51
Dalian
out of 100

Seaside port with the mildest climate in China's north-east

Full Dalian profile →Plan a trip to Dalian →
Cost of living: 4.9 of 53 points (scores 44/100)Safety: 8.4 of 53 points (scores 76/100)Healthcare: 9.2 of 53 points (scores 83/100)Internet: 6.3 of 53 points (scores 57/100)Visa ease: 1.7 of 53 points (scores 15/100)Getting there & around: 4.1 of 53 points (scores 37/100)Climate: 5.6 of 53 points (scores 50/100)Air quality: 6.0 of 53 points (scores 54/100)Quality of life: 6.4 of 53 points (scores 58/100)53
Nanning
out of 100

Guangxi's leafy subtropical capital, a train ride from Vietnam

Full Nanning profile →Plan a trip to Nanning →

Where they differ

  • Climate. Nanning leads on climate, 50 to 33, against Dalian. Comfortable months: 4 vs 6.

Where they are close. Within five points on getting there & around, air quality, cost of living, safety, healthcare, internet, visa ease, quality of life.

Pick Dalian if you want

  • no clear edge over Nanning in the data

Pick Nanning if you want

  • a longer comfortable season (6 months against 4)

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

MetricDalianNanning
Cost of living4444
Safety7676
Healthcare8383
Internet5757
Visa ease1515
Getting there & around41 ✓37
Climate3350 ✓
Air quality5254 ✓
Quality of life5858

Cost

MetricDalianNanning
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city$1,850$1,850
Central one-bedroom rentno datano data

Safety and health (country-level)

MetricDalianNanning
Homicides per 100k0.50.5
Political stability (0–100)6666
UHC service coverage (0–100)8585
Life expectancy77.9 yrs77.9 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

MetricDalianNanning
Download17 Mbps17 Mbps
Upload12.3 Mbps12.3 Mbps

Visa

MetricDalianNanning
Nomad visanone listednone listed
Minimum income for the visano datano data
Entry, US passportvisa requiredvisa required
Entry, EU passport30 days30 days
Entry, UK passportvisa requiredvisa required

Getting there and around

MetricDalianNanning
Non-stop airport destinations113 ✓84
Walkability (1–5, editorial)33
Transit (1–5, editorial)44

Climate and air

MetricDalianNanning
Comfortable months per year46 ✓
Annual mean PM2.526.5 µg/m³25.5 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Dalian or Nanning?
Dalian and Nanning cost about the same: roughly $1,850 per month for one person.
Is Dalian or Nanning safer?
Dalian and Nanning score the same on safety (76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Dalian or Nanning?
The same in both: a measured median of 17 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); Official entry rules that changed after the Passport Index snapshot; OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.