Here in the northeast it's the same. The awestruck stares are hilarious to me. Gives 'em something to talk about at the dinner table I guess.

All lowest level cities for sure...

The smaller the city, the more stares you will get. Open stares, anyway. If you're doing something they deem unusual, you will get more stares. I think I also get more stares depending on what I wear. There's a reason I wouldn't risk wearing anything sexy. I wouldn't want to make anyone's eyes pop out. 

I agree with Jnusb.  Smaller cities = harder, more intense stares.  I walked into an eyeglass shop last night with a friend of mine.  A woman and her teenage son were on their way out and just stopped dead in their tracks, jaws dropped, necks craned to more than 90° to have a look at me.  After a few moments of the discomfort from their staring, I said in a strong, but not mean, tone.....Ni men kan shen me kan? while motioning for them to exit the store....thankfully they complied.  At least it made my friend giggle

For me it is Guizhou province or Guiyang city. No matter what I am doing I just get stares. In the beginning I was uneasy at it but now I am used to it. Just because of stares my running time table is completely ruined. I like to go running in the evening but I get too much stares and I even hear "Lǎowài," almost every time.

If I go shopping there is always someone to stare at me and my basket to see what I am buying. From school kids to common folks on the street I repeatedly hear this word.

If I go to local Chinese restaurants then there I could see bunch of curious eyes on me to see what "Làjiāo" food i order and how I eat with chopsticks.

Less foreigners they see = more stares you get.

But I enjoy it now.

I recently stayed in a very small city in the South West of China. Every day I got intense stares but the funniest thing to happen was about three months. A woman was riding her bike up a street where I was walking. When she caught sight of me, she promptly took her eyes of the road in front. She then hit a dustbin, fell off her bike into another dustbin, calming climbed out of it covered in rotting vegetation then came a bit closer to me so she could get a better view.

I don't know, but I'm sure someone has researched this pressing question. Search the internet?

I think it happens more not only the further out into the countryside you get, but also, in a bigger city, the further you travel "off the beaten track." In my own city, which is second-tier, I like to do a lot of walking. I enjoy taking photographs, and this is a much better way to see the city up close. Many times, my journeys take me into the side streets and "local" districts. Sometimes, very crowded and close quarters, even on the narrow streets. I can tell by the stares from young and old alike that not many foreigners venture into these places, which are usually located off the main roads and avenues.

I was fairly comfortable with Beijing. Yes, some might take a second-look or be a little curious its also pretty common seeing foreigners in Beijing. A great many people barely even notice it.

        Then we moved up to Changchun where (so it seems) I was the very first foreigner to ever arrive in Changchun. I nearly caused a car accident standing outside the hotel, someone actually wanted a picture with me (apparently confusing me for a celebrity?) and stares, looks, sometimes even 'surprise', some children seemed slightly frightened. 

And if you think that was something - we met up with a brand-new foreign language teacher from the USA. A black girl. It was funny to us because she really had no idea why EVERYONE was just looking and pointing at her (not rudely) but you would think she was Lady Gaga, The Queen of England and the Ghost of Emperor Qin combined in the sheer amazed looks she got in public LOL!

I would think it would be the city your at because you can't help but stare! lol! So I vote for Guilin!

As I posted earlier that I could not go running I got the solution. Starting this week, I found the perfect timing to go for it. Exactly at 5 pm out of the office and back before 6 pm. Luckily almost no one on the stretch of the river side between 5 pm - 6 pm.

These are the cities I've been too;

Shanghai = no stares but twice someone tried to pick a fight with me for being foreign

Suzhou = none anymore, not since their foreign population has exploded

Kunshan = no stares (its between Shanghai & Suzhou)

Wuxi = not many stares in the city, some in the country, another guy tried to pick  a fight

Xiamen = no stares, just passed through on vacation

Hangzhou = ditto

Sanya = ditto

Guilin - Yangshou = ditto

HongKong - Shenzhen = of course no stares there

Dafeng (suburb of Yancheng) - yes there were stares, its the smallest city on this list

always when i am driving its like they are thinking the monkey can actually drive

villages , small cities and specially when you are with a   beautiful foreign l girl no matter where ever you are they will stare at you