List of cities in China by population explained

As of 2023, the five largest cities in China by population are Chongqing (31.91 million), Shanghai (24.87 million), Beijing (21.86 million), Chengdu (21.403 million) and Guangzhou (18.827 million).^[1] ^[2] ^[3] As of 2021, there are 17 megacities^[4] ^[5] (cities with a population of over 10 million), including Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Xi'an, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Linyi, Shijiazhuang, Dongguan, Qingdao and Changsha.^[6]

Among them, the total permanent population of Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu is above 20 million.^[7] Chongqing is China's most populous urban area,^[8] ^[9] while Chongqing is its largest city proper, the only city in China with the largest permanent population of over 30 million.^[10]

As of 2020, there were 113 Chinese cities with over 1 million people in urban areas.^[11]

Definition and classification

According to the administrative divisions of China, there are three major levels of cities, namely direct-administered municipalities (Chinese: 直辖市), prefecture-level cities (Chinese: 地级市), and county-level cities (Chinese: 县级市). Not included in this administrative classification list are the special administrative regions (Chinese: 特别行政区) of Hong Kong and Macau as well as the cities controlled by the Republic of China. Prefecture-level cities nearly always contain multiple counties (Chinese: 县), county-level cities, and other such sub-divisions.

Municipalities and prefecture-level cities are not each a 'city' in the strictest sense of the term, but are, instead, an administrative unit comprising, typically, both the urban core (a city in the strict sense) and surrounding rural or less-urbanized areas.^[12] The term "Chinese: 市区" (shì qū; "urban area") is used to distinguish a city's actual urban center from its administratively defined boundaries. However, even this term often encompasses large suburban regions, often greater than 1000-3NaN-3, or sometimes only the urban core, whereas the agglomeration overtakes the city limits. Thus, the "urban core" would be roughly comparable to the American term "city limit", and the "shì qū", or "urban area", would be roughly comparable to a city's "metropolitan area." The municipality is a political designation defining regions under control of a municipal government, which has no comparable designation in America.

While in 2013 Chongqing had the largest population total of any special municipality, 28 million, only 4.5 million of the people were in the actual Chongqing urban area, with the remainder of the population in suburban and rural areas.^[13]

List of major cities by population

The list contains all the cities with the administrative designation of "national central city" (Chinese: 国家中心城市) and "sub-provincial city" (Chinese: 副省级城市) – including five "cities with independent planning status" (Chinese: 计划单列市) and ten large "provincial capital cities" (Chinese: 省会城市), as well as some large "special economic zones" (Chinese: 经济特区城市), "open coastal cities" (Chinese: 沿海开放城市), and "prefecture-level cities" (Chinese: 地级市).^[14] This list defines a city's population as the population of a city's urban population, rather than the entire population of its municipal boundaries.

Legend:^⍟ National Capital City National Central City Provincial Capital City ^~ Open Coastal City ^† Special Economic Zone

	Direct-Administered Municipality
	City with Independent Planning Status
	Sub-Provincial City
	Prefecture-Level City

City	Province	2020 Census^[15]	2010 Census^[16]	% change
Shanghai	—
Beijing^⍟#	—
Shenzhen ~	Guangdong
Guangzhou	Guangdong
Chengdu	Sichuan
Tianjin †	—
Wuhan	Hubei
Dongguan	Guangdong
Chongqing	—
Xi'an	Shaanxi
Hangzhou	Zhejiang
Foshan	Guangdong
Nanjing	Jiangsu
Shenyang	Liaoning
Zhengzhou	Henan
Qingdao^~	Shandong
Suzhou	Jiangsu
Jinan	Shandong
Changsha	Hunan
Kunming	Yunnan
Harbin	Heilongjiang
Shijiazhuang	Hebei
Hefei	Anhui
Dalian^~	Liaoning
Xiamen^†	Fujian
Nanning	Guangxi
Changchun	Jilin
Taiyuan	Shanxi
Guiyang	Guizhou
Wuxi	Jiangsu
Ürümqi	Xinjiang
Zhongshan	Guangdong
Shantou^†	Guangdong
Ningbo^~	Zhejiang
Fuzhou ~	Fujian
Nanchang	Jiangxi
Changzhou	Jiangsu
Lanzhou	Gansu
Nantong^~	Jiangsu
Huizhou	Guangdong
Xuzhou	Jiangsu
Zibo	Shandong
Linyi	Shandong
Wenzhou^~	Zhejiang
Tangshan	Hebei
Hohhot	Inner Mongolia
Haikou	Hainan
Shaoxing	Zhejiang
Yantai^~	Shandong
Luoyang	Henan

Locations of the 50 most populous cities in mainland China

Cities and towns by population

China cities and towns by urban population (2020–2021)

1. Shanghai – 24,890,000
2. Beijing – 21,893,095
3. Guangzhou – 18,810,600
4. Chengdu – 16,935,567
5. Chongqing – 16,875,000
6. Shenzhen – 14,678,000
7. Tianjin – 13,866,009
8. Wuhan – 12,326,500
9. Xi'an – 11,904,805
10. Hangzhou – 10,711,238
11. Dongguan – 10,466,625
12. Foshan – 9,498,863
13. Nanjing – 9,314,685
14. Jinan – 8,352,574
15. Shenyang – 7,885,142
16. Qingdao – 7,172,451
17. Harbin – 6,976,136
18. Zhengzhou – 6,650,532
19. Changsha – 5,980,707
20. Kunming – 5,950,578
21. Dalian – 5,736,383
22. Changchun – 5,691,024
23. Xiamen – 5,163,970
24. Ningbo – 5,057,140
25. Taiyuan – 4,529,141
26. Zhongshan – 4,418,060
27. Ürümqi – 4,335,017
28. Suzhou – 4,330,000
29. Shantou – 4,312,192
30. Hefei – 4,216,940
31. Shijiazhuang – 4,098,243
32. Fuzhou – 4,094,491
33. Nanning – 3,839,800
34. Wenzhou – 3,604,446
35. Changzhou – 3,601,079
36. Nanchang – 3,576,547
37. Guiyang – 3,483,100
38. Tangshan – 3,399,231
39. Wuxi – 3,256,000
40. Lanzhou – 3,072,100
41. Handan – 2,845,790
42. Hohhot – 2,681,758
43. Weifang – 2,659,938
44. Jiangmen – 2,657,662
45. Zibo – 2,640,000
46. Huai'an – 2,632,788
47. Xuzhou – 2,623,066
48. Maoming – 2,539,148
49. Shaoxing – 2,521,964
50. Yantai – 2,511,053
51. Huizhou – 2,509,243
52. Zhuhai – 2,439,585
53. Luoyang – 2,372,571
54. Linyi – 2,303,648
55. Nantong – 2,273,326
56. Haikou – 2,250,000
57. Baotou – 2,181,077
58. Liuzhou – 2,153,419
59. Datong – 2,030,203
60. Putian – 2,003,000
61. Lianyungang – 2,001,009
62. Baoding – 1,976,000
63. Xining – 1,954,795
64. Zhanjiang – 1,931,455
65. Wuhu – 1,870,000
66. Chaozhou – 1,750,945
67. Qingyuan – 1,738,424
68. Tai'an – 1,735,425
69. Yichang – 1,698,400
70. Yangzhou – 1,665,000
71. Yinchuan – 1,662,968
72. Xiangyang – 1,658,000
73. Anshan – 1,647,000
74. Jilin City – 1,623,000
75. Yancheng – 1,615,717
76. Taizhou – 1,607,108
77. Qinhuangdao – 1,586,000
78. Ganzhou – 1,585,000
79. Daqing – 1,574,389
80. Guilin – 1,572,300
81. Huzhou – 1,558,826
82. Zhaoqing – 1,553,109
83. Jiaxing – 1,518,654
84. Jining – 1,518,000
85. Jinhua – 1,463,990
86. Changde – 1,457,519
87. Hengyang – 1,453,000
88. Suqian – 1,440,000
89. Baoji – 1,437,802
90. Zhangjiakou – 1,435,000
91. Mianyang – 1,355,331
92. Qiqihar – 1,350,434
93. Heze – 1,346,717
94. Fushun – 1,307,200
95. Yangjiang – 1,292,987
96. Liaocheng – 1,229,768
97. Tianshui – 1,212,791
98. Benxi – 1,176,490
99. Chifeng – 1,175,391
100. Jiujiang – 1,164,268
101. Anyang – 1,146,839
102. Huaibei – 1,142,000
103. Yulin – 1,117,800
104. Xinxiang – 1,047,088
105. Shaoguan – 1,028,460
106. Dongying – 998,968
107. Luzhou – 998,900
108. Meizhou – 992,351
109. Leshan – 987,000
110. Dezhou – 986,192
111. Xingtai – 971,300
112. Chenzhou – 960,000
113. Mudanjiang – 930,105
114. Tongliao – 921,808
115. Chengde – 920,395
116. Laiwu – 907,839
117. Taishan – 907,354
118. Quzhou – 902,767
119. Zhoushan – 882,932
120. Suihua – 877,114
121. Langfang – 868,066
122. Hengshui – 856,705
123. Yingkou – 848,100
124. Panjin – 846,500
125. Weihai – 844,310
126. Anqing – 804,493
127. Liaoyang – 793,700
128. Puyang – 760,300
129. Fuxin – 759,100
130. Jieyang – 741,674
131. Yangquan – 731,228
132. Jiamusi – 726,622
133. Huludao – 724,800
134. Zhumadian – 721,670
135. Kashgar – 711,300
136. Dazhou – 705,321
137. Heyuan – 703,607
138. Longyan – 703,524
139. Aksu City – 695,000
140. Ordos City – 693,038
141. Hegang – 690,000
142. Binzhou – 682,717
143. Siping – 680,600
144. Sanmenxia – 669,307
145. Dandong – 659,400
146. Suining – 658,798
147. Sanya – 644,727
148. Ji'an – 643,399
149. Cangzhou – 621,300
150. Qitaihe – 620,935
151. Yichun – 598,000
152. Tonghua – 584,209
153. Jixi – 580,000
154. Korla – 549,324
155. Chaoyang – 537,800
156. Dingxi – 525,044
157. Shuangyashan – 507,257
158. Songyuan – 495,900
159. Nanping – 491,287
160. Liaoyuan – 475,400
161. Lhasa – 464,736
162. Karamay – 462,347
163. Shanwei – 437,000
164. Tieling – 434,799
165. Suihua – 428,795
166. Ulanqab – 425,059
167. Hami – 412,305
168. Huangshan City – 410,973
169. Hotan – 408,894
170. Wuwei – 408,000
171. Baishan – 402,600
172. Sanming – 379,701
173. Yunfu – 369,321
174. Hailar – 365,012
175. Zhaotong – 352,831
176. Ningde – 343,262
177. Baicheng – 332,826
178. Hunchun – 271,000
179. Zhangjiajie – 225,700
180. Golmud – 205,700
181. Yumen City – 168,300
182. Altay City – 114,995

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Population Statistics 2023 . 2024-06-16 . National Bureau of Statistics of China.
Web site: March 25, 2024 . Interpreting the changes in Chengdu's permanent population from three dimensions . 2024-06-16 . Sichuan Provincial People's Government Website.
Web site: Population and ethnicity of Guangzhou 2023 . 2024-06-16 . Guangzhou Municipal People's Government.
News: Maggie Hiufu Wong . Megacities and more: A guide to China's most impressive urban centers . 26 October 2020 . CNN.
Web site: 张洁 . Chongqing, Chengdu top new first-tier cities by population . 3 November 2021 . China Daily.
Web site: 17 Chinese cities have a population of over 10 million in 2021 . 31 May 2022 . www.ecns.cn.
Web site: 孙迟 . China's inland rides waves of innovation, new opportunities . 31 May 2022 . global.chinadaily.com.cn . Chengdu and Chongqing are now two of the only four cities (the other two are Beijing and Shanghai) in China with populations of more than 20 million..
Book: Demographia . Demographia World Urban Areas . March 2013 . 9th . https://web.archive.org/web/20130501024602/http://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf . 1 May 2013.
Book: OECD Urban Policy Reviews: China 2015 . 18 April 2015 . . 9789264230033 . 37 . 10.1787/9789264230040-en.
Web site: 28 January 2016 . zh:2015年重庆常住人口3016.55万人继续保持增长态势 . http://cq.cqnews.net/html/2016-01/28/content_36292655.htm . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160129083111/http://cq.cqnews.net/html/2016-01/28/content_36292655.htm . 29 January 2016 . 13 February 2016 . Chongqing News . zh . dmy-all.
News: February 6, 2020 . Meet China's 113 Cities With More Than 1 Million People . Visual Capitalist.
Zhang . L. . Zhao . Simon X. B. . June 1998 . Re-examining China's "Urban" Concept and the Level of Urbanization . The China Quarterly . en . 154 . 330–381 . 10.1017/S030574100000206X . 154765152.
Web site: Stokols. Andrew. Why Chinese Cities Are Smaller Than They Appear. The Atlantic. 2013-11-22. 2023-07-06.
Web site: China: Provinces, Prefectures, Counties, Cities, Districts, Townships, Urban Areas – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts. www.citypopulation.de. 2019-06-18.
Web site: China: Provinces and Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information . 2023-11-15 . www.citypopulation.de.
Web site: China: Provinces and Major Cities – Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information. www.citypopulation.de. 2019-06-18.