List of cities in China by population

Definition and classification

According to the administrative divisions of China, there are three major levels of cities, namely direct-administered municipalities (直辖市), prefecture-level cities (地级市), and county-level cities (县级市). Not included in this administrative classification list are the special administrative regions (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 (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 typically comprising both the urban core (a city in the strict sense) and surrounding rural or less-urbanized areas. The term "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 sqmi, 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.

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 "cities 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), as well as other cities that have a population of over 1 million.

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.

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 – 29,867,918
• 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. Shangqiu - 1,859,723
• 67. Chaozhou – 1,750,945
• 68. Qingyuan – 1,738,424
• 69. Kaifeng - 1,735,581
• 70. Tai'an – 1,735,425
• 71. Yichang – 1,698,400
• 72. Yangzhou – 1,665,000
• 73. Yinchuan – 1,662,968
• 74. Xiangyang – 1,658,000
• 75. Anshan – 1,647,000
• 76. Jilin City – 1,623,000
• 77. Yancheng – 1,615,717
• 78. Taizhou – 1,607,108
• 79. Qinhuangdao – 1,586,000
• 80. Ganzhou – 1,585,000
• 81. Daqing – 1,574,389
• 82. Guilin – 1,572,300
• 83. Huzhou – 1,558,826
• 84. Zhaoqing – 1,553,109
• 85. Jiaxing – 1,518,654
• 86. Jining – 1,518,000
• 87. Jinhua – 1,463,990
• 88. Changde – 1,457,519
• 89. Hengyang – 1,453,000
• 90. Suqian – 1,440,000
• 91 Baoji – 1,437,802
• 92. Zhangjiakou – 1,435,000
• 93. Mianyang – 1,355,331
• 94. Qiqihar – 1,350,434
• 95. Heze – 1,346,717
• 96. Fushun – 1,307,200
• 97. Yangjiang – 1,292,987
• 98. Liaocheng – 1,229,768
• 99. Tianshui – 1,212,791
• 100. Benxi – 1,176,490
• 101. Chifeng – 1,175,391
• 102. Jiujiang – 1,164,268
• 103. Anyang – 1,146,839
• 104. Huaibei – 1,142,000
• 105. Yulin – 1,117,800
• 106. Xinxiang – 1,047,088
• 107. Shaoguan – 1,028,460
• 108. Dongying – 998,968
• 109. Luzhou – 998,900
• 110. Meizhou – 992,351
• 111. Leshan – 987,000
• 112. Dezhou – 986,192
• 113. Xingtai – 971,300
• 114. Chenzhou – 960,000
• 115. Mudanjiang – 930,105
• 116. Tongliao – 921,808
• 117. Chengde – 920,395
• 118. Laiwu – 907,839
• 119. Taishan – 907,354
• 120. Quzhou – 902,767
• 121. Zhoushan – 882,932
• 122. Suihua – 877,114
• 123. Langfang – 868,066
• 124. Hengshui – 856,705
• 125. Yingkou – 848,100
• 126. Panjin – 846,500
• 127. Weihai – 844,310
• 128. Anqing – 804,493
• 129. Liaoyang – 793,700
• 130. Puyang – 760,300
• 131. Fuxin – 759,100
• 132. Jieyang – 741,674
• 133. Yangquan – 731,228
• 134. Jiamusi – 726,622
• 135. Huludao – 724,800
• 136. Zhumadian – 721,670
• 137. Kashgar – 711,300
• 138. Dazhou – 705,321
• 139. Heyuan – 703,607
• 140. Longyan – 703,524
• 141. Aksu City – 695,000
• 142. Ordos City – 693,038
• 143. Hegang – 690,000
• 144. Binzhou – 682,717
• 145. Siping – 680,600
• 146. Sanmenxia – 669,307
• 147. Dandong – 659,400
• 148. Suining – 658,798
• 149. Sanya – 644,727
• 150. Ji'an – 643,399
• 151. Cangzhou – 621,300
• 152. Qitaihe – 620,935
• 153. Yichun – 598,000
• 154. Tonghua – 584,209
• 155. Jixi – 580,000
• 156. Korla – 549,324
• 157. Chaoyang – 537,800
• 158. Dingxi – 525,044
• 159. Shuangyashan – 507,257
• 160. Songyuan – 495,900
• 161. Nanping – 491,287
• 162. Liaoyuan – 475,400
• 163. Lhasa – 464,736
• 164. Karamay – 462,347
• 165. Shanwei – 437,000
• 166. Tieling – 434,799
• 167. Suihua – 428,795
• 168. Ulanqab – 425,059
• 169. Hami – 412,305
• 170. Huangshan City – 410,973
• 171. Hotan – 408,894
• 172. Wuwei – 408,000
• 173. Baishan – 402,600
• 174. Sanming – 379,701
• 175. Yunfu – 369,321
• 176. Hailar – 365,012
• 177. Zhaotong – 352,831
• 178. Ningde – 343,262
• 179. Baicheng – 332,826
• 180. Hunchun – 271,000
• 181. Zhangjiajie – 225,700
• 182. Golmud – 205,700
• 183. Yumen City – 168,300
• 184. Altay City – 114,995

List of cities with a population between 100,000 and 1,000,000

This list includes all cities with a population between 100,000 and 1,000,000. Many of these cities are prefecture-level cities, sub-prefectural or county-level cities, or any distinct urban area within a city or region. This list defines a city's population as the population of a city's urban area, rather than the entire population of its municipal boundaries. (This list is still a work in progress and only includes certain provinces' cities so far).

References

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