[kayaeb]

FAST is actually having difficulty hiring (on-site specialists like operations director) the smartest minds because it's in a jungle in small-town China.

But yes, overall China is executing an excellent "brain drain" (not meant in a negative sense) by being willing to invest in these "keystone" projects when other countries are tightening budgets.

[godelski]

Telescopes generally have this problem though. Because it sucks to live out in the middle of nowhere and you typically want to bring your family (which means you need cities to support things like schools and recreation. Most labs/research sites I know are like this. China Lake is an exception. But even Groom Lake has has Vegas near it).