Which starbucks near city center is best for hanging out all day and studying on my laptop? Ideally it'd have power plugs and reliable wifi. I saw a small one on the 2nd floor of some building near Dico's. But is there a better one?

try the one at 'Me Town'. very quiet. it's in the east... near baita lu

A lot of cafes other than Starbucks are good too - problem: quality of coffee, coffee's popularity in China is relatively new, and a lot of people who make it maybe don't drink it - but then the quality of Starbucks coffee is not exactly the best either, and they're a large international corporation with a bs 'I'm so cool' image, carefully cultivated.

the starbucks on renminzhong road is pretty good. although at the moment they have a problem with their plumbing so there's a bit of a stink. it's quiet during the week but on the weekend very busy. there's another starbucks on reminzhong road at xiaoximen and that one's quiet even on the weekend.

i like starbucks because the coffee's good, the service is excellent and the it's a good place to study. i think a lot of people take the attitude that large international corporation = bad. but i think that's bullshit. the fact is that they became a large corporation by offering a service which is better than the competition

not sure if mcdonalds' has wifi, but the coffee is cheaper, and they have food. but maybe noisier too. put your headphones on while working?

The one at Meichen, near xiaoximen is super quiet.

"the fact is that they became a large corporation by offering a service which is better than the competition"

They didn't become big in China because of the service, that I can tell you for sure.

"not sure if mcdonalds' has wifi"

KFC apparently has wifi now, but I wouldn't want to to put my laptop and the palm of my hand on those filthy tables or the ones at McDonalds. They are filled with germs from the previous people who left bones and other pieces of food right on them, and from that magical rag that is able to wipe the outside of bins AND the surface of tables without the use of disinfectants.

you have germophobia, yankee?

do NOT kiss your laptop after resting it on a KFC table because there's no way of knowing where those lips have been!

there's a brilliant invention. it's called S-O-A-P.

@yankee: I think you're a bit over-concerned about it. Would you EAT in McDonalds or KFC, what with all them germs? I wouldn't and almost never do, but it's got nothing to do with germs. Where WOULD you eat &/or play computers?
@ Chris: interesting issues about big corporations & why they succeed, but they'd go too far away from this topic, perhaps.

Not exactly in city center, but Starbucks in the new Binjiang Junfa Center on Baiyun Lu, east of Panlong river, looks quite spacious and comfortable for studying.