List of capitals in China

This article is about contemporary capitals. For the historic capitals, see Historical capitals of China.

The scope of this list is limited to capital cities of first-level administrative divisions such as provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and special administrative regions, also including sub-provincial cities which are governed by a province but administered independently in many ways from a province.

Provincial-level capitals

Beijing

Tianjin

Hebei
Shijiazhuang

Shanxi
Taiyuan

Inner Mongolia AR
Hohhot

Liaoning
Shenyang

Jilin
Changchun

Heilongjiang
Harbin

Shanghai

Jiangsu
Nanjing

Zhejiang
Hangzhou

Anhui
Hefei

Fujian
Fuzhou

Taiwan
Taibei

Jiangxi
Nanchang

Shandong
Jinan

Henan
Zhengzhou

Hubei
Wuhan

Hunan
Changsha

Guangdong
Guangzhou

Guangxi Zhuang AR
Nanning

Hainan
Haikou

Chongqing

Sichuan
Chengdu

Guizhou
Guiyang

Yunnan
Kunming

Tibet AR
Lhasa

Shaanxi
Xi'an

Gansu
Lanzhou

Qinghai
Xining

Ningxia Hui AR
Yinchuan

Xinjiang Uygur AR
Ürümqi

Hong Kong
SAR

Macao
SAR

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Provincial-level administrative divisions and capitals of China
Legend: Capital Direct-administered municipality East South West North Central Special Administrative Region (SAR)

• Note: The People's Republic of China claims Taiwan as one of its provinces, which it does not control.

Jurisdiction	Capital	Chinese	Capital since	Land area (km²)	Population (2020)	Urban area population (2020)	Symbol	Seat	Map
Anhui	Hefei	合肥市	1853	11,434	9,369,881	5,118,199	庐	Shushan
Beijing (Municipality)	Beijing	北京市	1927	16,801	21,893,095	21,893,095	京	Tongzhou
Chongqing (Municipality)	Chongqing	重庆市	1927	82,401	32,054,159	22,251,500	渝	Yuzhong
Fujian	Fuzhou	福州市	1278	12,177	8,291,268	4,094,491	榕	Gulou
Gansu	Lanzhou	兰州市	1667	13,300	4,359,446	3,072,100	兰	Chengguan
Guangdong	Guangzhou	广州市	1369	7,434	18,676,605	16,492,590	穗	Yuexiu
Guangxi (Autonomous region)	Nanning	南宁市	1912	22,189	8,741,584	5,977,185	邕	Qingxiu
Guizhou	Guiyang	贵阳市	1413	8,034	5,987,018	4,506,134	筑	Guanshanhu
Hainan	Haikou	海口市	1988	2,237	2,046,189	2,046,189	海	Xiuying
Hebei	Shijiazhuang	石家庄市	1968	15,722	11,235,086	4,717,198	石	Chang'an
Heilongjiang	Harbin	哈尔滨市	1949	53,100	10,009,854	7,152,381	哈	Songbei
Henan	Zhengzhou	郑州市	1954	7,507	12,600,574	6,650,532	郑	Zhongyuan
Hong Kong (Special administrative region)	Hong Kong	香港特别行政区	1997	1,104	7,481,800	7,481,800	港	Central & Western
Hubei	Wuhan	武汉市	1927	8,494	12,326,500	12,326,500	汉	Jiang'an
Hunan	Changsha	长沙市	1664	11,819	10,047,914	6,242,453	星	Yuelu
Inner Mongolia (Autonomous region)	Hohhot	呼和浩特市	1952	17,224	3,446,100	2,681,758	呼	Xincheng
Jiangsu	Nanjing	南京市	1952	6,598	9,314,685	9,314,685	宁	Xuanwu
Jiangxi	Nanchang	南昌市	1277	7,372	6,255,007	3,929,660	洪	Honggutan
Jilin	Changchun	长春市	1954	20,532	9,066,906	5,691,024	春	Nanguan
Liaoning	Shenyang	沈阳市	1662	12,942	9,070,093	7,885,142	沈	Hunnan
Macau (Special administrative region)	Macau	澳门特别行政区	1999	29	683,100	683,100	澳	São Lourenço
Ningxia (Autonomous region)	Yinchuan	银川市	1928	4,467	2,859,074	1,901,793	银	Jinfeng
Qinghai	Xining	西宁市	1928	7,372	2,467,965	1,954,795	湟	Chengzhong
Shaanxi	Xi'an	西安市	1286	9,983	12,952,907	11,904,805	镐	Weiyang
Shandong	Jinan	济南市	1377	8,177	9,202,432	8,352,574	济	Lixia
Shanghai (Municipality)	Shanghai	上海市	1927	6,340	24,870,895	24,870,895	沪	Huangpu
Shanxi	Taiyuan	太原市	1369	6,959	5,305,061	4,529,141	并	Xinghualing
Sichuan	Chengdu	成都市	1286	12,132	20,937,757	15,419,445	蓉	Wuhou
Tianjin (Municipality)	Tianjin	天津市	1927	11,760	13,866,009	10,932,000	津	Hexi
Tibet (Autonomous region)	Lhasa	拉萨市	1642	29,274	867,891	648,044	拉	Chengguan
Xinjiang (Autonomous region)	Ürümqi	乌鲁木齐市	1884	14,577	3,112,559	3,029,372	乌	Tianshan
Yunnan	Kunming	昆明市	1275	21,473	8,460,088	5,604,310	昆	Chenggong
Zhejiang	Hangzhou	杭州市	1367	16,847	11,936,010	10,711,238	杭	Jianggan

Sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals

Sub-provincial cities have a status that is below that of the municipalities, which are independent and equivalent to provinces, but above other, regular prefecture-level cities, which are completely ruled by their respective provinces. However, these sub-provincial cities are marked the same as other provincial capitals (or a prefecture-level city if the city is not a provincial capital) on almost all maps.

In total, there are five sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals. These five cities have been designated as "Cities with Independent Planning Status" (Chinese :计划单列市; pinyin :Jìhuá Dānliè Shì).

List of the Cities with Independent Planning Status

Jurisdiction	City	Chinese	Designation	Land area (km²)	Population (2010)	Urban area population (2010)	Symbol	Seat	Map
Fujian	Xiamen	厦门市	1988	1,699	3,531,347	3,119,110	鹭	Siming
Guangdong	Shenzhen	深圳市	1988	2,050	10,358,381	10,358,381	深	Futian
Liaoning	Dalian	大连市	1984	13,237	8,106,171	4,222,409	连	Xigang
Shandong	Qingdao	青岛市	1986	11,026	8,715,087	4,556,077	胶	Shinan
Zhejiang	Ningbo	宁波市	1987	9,816	7,605,689	2,823,065	甬	Yinzhou

With the exception of Fuzhou, the provincial capital of Fujian Province, the provincial capitals of the other four provinces listed above – Guangzhou, Shenyang, Jinan, and Hangzhou – are themselves sub-provincial cities. Before 1997, when Chongqing was a sub-provincial city of Sichuan Province, provincial capital Chengdu was also a sub-provincial city.

See also

• China portal

• Historical capitals of China
• List of cities in China
• List of cities in China by population
• List of the current and former capitals of the subdivisions of China