Lanzhou, China, near Mongolia
"Growing city, lots of pollution"
Lanzhou is where Marco Polo came and discovered noodles and brought
them back to Italy. It is renowned for it's noodle dishes. It's on the Yangtze (Yellow) River. It's crowded and polluted, but there's much to see and do there.
"Locals at play"
Here are some guys playing a Chinese logic game. Totally entranced by the moment, they didn't even notice me.

Poppy on Snow