List of cities in China by population

China is the world's most populous country. According to the Demographic research group in 2017, there are 102 Chinese cities with over 1 million people in the "urban area", as defined by the group's methodology.[1]

Definition and classification

According to the administrative divisions of China, there are three levels of cities, namely direct-administered municipalities (直辖市), prefecture-level cities (地级市), and county-level cities (县级市). The Special Administrative Regions (特别行政区) of Hong Kong and Macau and the areas controlled by the Republic of China (Taiwan) are not included in this administrative classification.

Municipalities and prefecture-level cities are not each a "city" in the strictest sense of the term, but instead an administrative unit comprising, typically, both an urban core (a city in the strict sense) and surrounding rural or less-urbanized areas usually many times the size of the central, built-up core.[2]

Prefecture-level cities nearly always contain multiple counties (县), county-level cities, and other such sub-divisions. To distinguish a prefecture-level city from its actual urban area (city in the strict sense), the term "市区" (shì qū; "urban area") is used. However, even this term often encompasses large suburban regions often greater than 1,000 square miles (3,000 km2), sometimes only the urban core whereas the agglomeration overtake the city limits. Thus, the "urban core" would be roughly comparable to the American term "city limit", the "shì qū or urban area" would be roughly comparable to "metropolitan area", and the municipality is a political designation defining regions under control of a municipal government, which has no comparable designation.

List of major cities by population

The list contains all the cities with the administrative designation of "National Central City" (国家中心城市) and "Sub-Provincial City" (副省级城市) – including five "Municipalities with Independent Planning Status" (计划单列市) and ten large "Provincial Capital Cities" (省会城市), as well as some large "Special Economic Zones" (经济特区城市), "Open Coastal Cities" (沿海开放城市) and "Prefecture-Level Cities" (地级市).[3]

Urban Population
Legend:

⍟ National Capital City

# National Central City

* Provincial Capital City

~ Open Coastal City

† Special Economic Zone

Direct-Administered Municipality
Municipality with Independent Planning Status
Sub-Provincial City
Prefecture-Level City
Top 50 of the Largest Cities in Mainland China by Population of Urban Area
Rank City Province Latest Estimate[4] 2010 Census[5]
1 Shanghai#~ — 26,917,322 20,217,748
2 Beijing⍟# — 20,381,745 16,704,306
3 Chongqing# — 15,773,658 6,263,790
4 Tianjin#~ — 13,552,359 9,583,277
5 Guangzhou#*~ Guangdong 13,238,590 10,641,408
6 Shenzhen† Guangdong 12,313,714 10,358,381
7 Chengdu#* Sichuan 9,104,865 7,791,692
8 Nanjing* Jiangsu 8,789,855 5,827,888
9 Wuhan#* Hubei 8,346,205 7,541,527
10 Xi'an#* Shaanxi 7,948,032 5,403,052
11 Hangzhou* Zhejiang 7,603,271 5,849,537
12 Dongguan Guangdong 7,402,305 7,271,322
13 Foshan Guangdong 7,313,711 6,771,895
14 Shenyang* Liaoning 7,191,333 5,718,232
15 Harbin* Heilongjiang 6,360,991 4,596,313
16 Qingdao~ Shandong 5,597,028 4,556,077
17 Dalian~ Liaoning 5,587,814 3,902,467
18 Jinan* Shandong 5,330,573 3,641,562
19 Zhengzhou#* Henan 5,286,549 3,677,032
20 Changsha* Hunan 4,555,788 3,193,354
21 Kunming* Yunnan 4,422,686 3,385,363
22 Changchun* Jilin 4,408,154 3,411,209
23 Ürümqi* Xinjiang 4,335,017 2,853,398
24 Shantou† Guangdong 4,312,192 3,644,017
25 Hefei* Anhui 4,216,940 3,098,727
26 Shijiazhuang* Hebei 4,098,243 3,095,219
27 Ningbo~ Zhejiang 4,087,523 2,583,073
28 Taiyuan* Shanxi 3,875,053 3,154,157
29 Nanning* Guangxi 3,837,978 2,660,833
30 Xiamen† Fujian 3,707,090 3,119,110
31 Fuzhou*~ Fujian 3,671,192 3,102,421
32 Wenzhou~ Zhejiang 3,604,446 2,686,825
33 Changzhou Jiangsu 3,601,079 2,257,376
34 Nanchang* Jiangxi 3,576,547 2,614,380
35 Tangshan Hebei 3,399,231 2,128,191
36 Guiyang* Guizhou 3,299,724 2,520,061
37 Wuxi Jiangsu 3,245,179 2,757,736
38 Lanzhou* Gansu 3,067,141 2,438,595
39 Zhongshan Guangdong 2,909,633 2,740,994
40 Handan Hebei 2,708,015 1,830,000
41 Weifang Shandong 2,636,154 2,044,028
42 Huai'an Jiangsu 2,632,788 2,494,013
43 Zibo Shandong 2,631,647 2,261,717
44 Shaoxing Zhejiang 2,521,964 1,725,726
45 Yantai~ Shandong 2,511,053 1,797,861
46 Huizhou Guangdong 2,509,243 1,807,858
47 Luoyang Henan 2,372,571 1,584,463
48 Nantong~ Jiangsu 2,261,382 1,612,385
49 Baotou Inner Mongolia 2,181,077 1,900,373
50 Liuzhou Guangxi 2,153,419 1,624,571

N.B.: The source did not include Suzhou on the list. With 4,242,500 residents,[6] Suzhou is the second largest city in Jiangsu Province, behind only Nanjing the capital city. If included, Suzhou could be 25th on the list, just ahead of Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province.

Locations of the 50 most populous cities in Mainland China
Top 50 most populous cities in Mainland China

See also

References
  1. "More than 100 Chinese cities now above 1 million people". Guardian. March 20, 2017.
  2. Zhang, L.; Zhao, Simon X. B. (June 1998). "Re-examining China's "Urban" Concept and the Level of Urbanization". The China Quarterly. 154: 330–381. doi:10.1017/S030574100000206X.
  3. "China: Provinces, Prefectures, Counties, Cities, Districts, Townships, Urban Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  4. "China Population (2020)". PopulationStat. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  5. "China: Provinces and Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
  6. 苏州 (in Chinese)
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