List of cities in China by population and built-up area

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China is the world's most populous country, and its largest city, Shanghai, is the largest city proper in the world, with a population of 26.3 million as of 2019. [1] 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. [2]

Shanghai Municipality in Peoples Republic of China

Shanghai is one of the four municipalities under the direct administration of the central government of the People's Republic of China, the most populous city in China, and the most populous city proper in the world, with a population of 26.3 million as of 2019. It is a global financial center and transport hub, with the world's busiest container port. Located in the Yangtze River Delta, it sits on the south edge of the estuary of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the Eastern China coast. The municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the south, east and west, and is bound to the east by the East China Sea.

Contents

Definition and classification

According to the administrative divisions of China, there are three levels of cities, namely municipalities (直辖市), prefecture-level cities (地级市), and county-level cities (县级市). The Special Administrative Regions (S.A.R.s) of Hong Kong and Macau are not included in this administrative classification.

Due to China's large population and area, the administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times. The constitution of China provides for three de jure levels of government. Currently, however, there are five practical levels of local government: the provincial, prefecture, county, township, and village.

Prefecture-level city Peoples Republic of China prefecture-level subdivision

A prefectural-level municipality, prefectural-level city or prefectural city; formerly known as province-administrated city from 1949 to 1983, is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative structure. Administrative chiefs (mayors) of prefectural level cities generally have the same rank as a division chief of a national ministry. Since the 1980s, most former prefectures have been renamed into prefectural level cities.

Special administrative regions of China province-level autonomous subdivision in the Peoples Republic of China

The special administrative regions (SAR) are one type of provincial-level administrative divisions of China directly under Central People's Government. They possess the highest degree of autonomy.

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.[ citation needed ]

Prefecture-level cities nearly always contain multiple counties, 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" (shìqū; "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 "shìqū 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.[ citation needed ]

Counties of China Peoples Republic of China county-level subdivision

Counties, formally county-level divisions, are found in the third level of the administrative hierarchy in Provinces and Autonomous regions, and the second level in municipalities and Hainan, a level that is known as "county level" and also contains autonomous counties, county-level cities, banners, autonomous banner, and City districts. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions.

List

The list contains all cities with the administrative designation "sub-provincial city" (副省级城市), many are "Prefecture level cities" and "Provincial capitals" (省会). "Special Economic Zones" (经济特区城市), "National Central Cities" (国家中心城市) and some Council-Level cities. [3]

According to 2010 Census

Legend:

⍟ = National capital

* = Provincial capital

† = Special Economic Zone

# = National Central City

Municipality
Prefecture-level City
Top 50 of the Largest Cities of Mainland China by Population of Urban Area [4]
RankNameProvinceUrban Population
1 Shanghai#20,217,748
2 Beijing⍟#16,704,306
3 Guangzhou*# Guangdong 10,641,408
4 Shenzhen† Guangdong10,358,381
5 Tianjin#9,583,277
6 Wuhan*# Hubei 7,541,527
7 Dongguan Guangdong7,271,322
8 Chengdu*# Sichuan 7,112,045
9 Foshan Guangdong6,771,895
10 Chongqing#6,263,790
11 Nanjing* Jiangsu 5,827,888
12 Shenyang* Liaoning 5,718,232
13 Hangzhou* Zhejiang 5,578,288
14 Xi'an*# Shaanxi 5,206,253
15 Harbin* Heilongjiang 4,596,313
16 Suzhou Jiangsu4,083,923
17 Qingdao Shandong 3,990,942
18 Dalian Liaoning3,902,467
19 Zhengzhou*# Henan 3,677,032
20 Shantou Guangdong3,644,017
21 Jinan*Shandong3,527,566
22 Changchun* Jilin 3,411,209
23 Kunming* Yunnan 3,278,777
24 Changsha* Hunan 3,193,354
25 Taiyuan* Shanxi 3,154,157
26 Xiamen Fujian 3,119,110
27 Hefei* Anhui 3,098,727
28 Shijiazhuang* Hebei 3,095,219
29 Ürümqi* Xinjiang 2,853,398
30 Fuzhou*Fujian2,824,414
31 Wuxi Jiangsu2,757,736
32 Zhongshan Guangdong2,740,994
33 Wenzhou Zhejiang2,686,825
34 Nanning* Guangxi 2,660,833
35 Nanchang* Jiangxi 2,614,380
36 Ningbo Zhejiang2,583,073
37 Guiyang* Guizhou 2,520,061
38 Lanzhou* Gansu 2,438,595
39 Zibo Shandong2,261,717
40 Changzhou Jiangsu2,257,376
41 Xuzhou Jiangsu2,214,795
42 Tangshan Hebei2,128,191
43 Baotou Inner Mongolia 1,900,373
44 Huizhou Guangdong1,807,858
45 Yantai Shandong1,797,861
46 Shaoxing Zhejiang1,725,726
47 Liuzhou Guangxi1,624,571
48 Nantong Jiangsu1,612,385
49 Luoyang Henan1,584,463
50 Yangzhou Jiangsu1,584,237

See also

Related Research Articles

Provinces of China Peoples Republic of China province-level subdivision

Provincial-level administrative divisions or first-level administrative divisions, are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 33 such divisions, classified as 22 provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions, and two Special Administrative Regions. All but the disputed Taiwan Province and a small fraction of Fujian Province are controlled by the People's Republic of China.

A sub-provincial division in the People's Republic of China is like a prefecture-level city that is governed by a province, but is administered independently in regard to economy and law.

Prefectures of China Peoples Republic of China government subdivision level

Prefectures, formally a kind of prefecture-level divisions as a term in the context of China, are used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. There are 334 prefecture-level divisions in China. They include 7 prefectures, 293 prefecture-level cities, 30 autonomous prefectures and 3 leagues. Other than provincial level divisions, prefectural level divisions are not mentioned in the Chinese constitution.

Wanzhou District District in Chongqing, Peoples Republic of China

Wanzhou District is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest and Hubei to the southeast. It was formerly known as Wanxian or Wan County. Prior to Chongqing's formation as a direct-controlled municipality, Wanzhou was part of Sichuan province. The urban core of Wanzhou is 228 km (142 mi) away from Chongqing's city proper.

County-level city Peoples Republic of China county-level subdivision

A county-level municipality, county-level city, or county city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions. Formerly known as prefecture-controlled city.

Jingzhou Prefecture-level city in Hubei, Peoples Republic of China

Jingzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Based on the 2010 census, its total population was 5,691,707, 1,154,086 of whom resided in the built-up area comprising the two urban districts.

Shiyan Prefecture-level city in Hubei, Peoples Republic of China

Shiyan is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China, bordering Henan to the northeast, Chongqing to the southwest, and Shaanxi to the north and west. At the 2010 census, its population was 3,340,841 of whom 767,920 lived in the built-up urban districts of Maojian and Zhangwan on 1,193 square kilometres. In 2007, the city was named China's top ten livable cities by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum.

Laiwu former prefecture-level city in Shandong, China

Laiwu was a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province, China. Bordered the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east and Tai'an to the southwest, it was the smallest prefecture-level city in the province. It had a population of 1,298,529 at the 2010 census, and became part of Jinan in 2019.

Xiangyang Prefecture-level city in Hubei, Peoples Republic of China

Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city north-south. The city itself is an agglomeration of two once separate cities: Fancheng and Xiangcheng. What remains of old Xiangyang is located south of the Han River and contains one of the oldest still-intact city walls in China, while Fancheng is located to the north of the Han River. Both cities served prominent historical roles in both ancient and pre-modern Chinese history. Today, the city has been a target of government and private investment as the country seeks to urbanize and develop the interior provinces. In 2017, population of the prefecture-level city was 5.65 million, in which 3.37 million were urban residents.

Zaoyang County-level city in Hubei, Peoples Republic of China

Zaoyang is a city in the north of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north. Administratively, it is a county-level city under the administration of Xiangyang. At the 2010 census its population was 1,004,741 inhabitants even though its built-up area is much smaller.

Wangcheng District District in Hunan, Peoples Republic of China

Wangcheng District is one of six urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, China. It is the largest district of Changsha by area. The district is bordered to the north by Miluo City and Xiangyin County of Yueyang, to the west by Heshan District of Yiyang and Ningxiang County, to the south by Yuelu and Kaifu Districts, to the east by Changsha County. Located in the northsouth of the City proper in Changsha, Wangcheng covers 951.06 km2 (367.21 sq mi) with registered population of 560,567 and resident population of 562,100. The district has 10 subdistricts and 5 towns under its jurisdiction, its administrative centre is at Gaotangling Subdistrict.

Daye County-level city in Hubei, Peoples Republic of China

Daye is a county-level city in eastern Hubei province, China. It is under the administration of the Huangshi prefecture-level city.

Dingcheng District District in Hunan, Peoples Republic of China

Dingcheng District is one of two urban districts in Changde City, Hunan Province, China; it is also the 2nd most populous district in Hunan. The district is bordered to the north by Anxiang County, Jinshi City and Linli County, to the west by Taoyuan County, to the north by Anhua and Taojiang Counties, to the east by Hanshou County, Wuling District is in the central west of Dingcheng District. Dingcheng is the largest district by population or by area in Hunan, it has an area of 2,322.5 kilometres (1,443.1 mi) with 764,700 of registered population. It is divided into 4 subdistricts, 19 towns and 1 township, its government seat is Hongyun Subdistrict (红云街道).

Anxiang County County in Hunan, Peoples Republic of China

Anxiang County is a county in Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Changde. The County is located on the north in Hunan Province and the southeast in Changde City, it borders to the north by Gong'an County, the west by Li County, Jinshi City and Dingcheng District, the south by Nan County, the east by Shishou City, it has an area of 1,087 kilometres (675 mi) with 602,299 of registered population and 525,619 of permanent resident population. It is divided into 8 towns and 4 townships under its jurisdiction. The county seat is Shenliu (深柳镇).

Direct-administered municipalities of China Peoples Republic of China province-level subdivision

A municipality, formally as municipality under the direct administration of central government, is the highest level of classification for cities used by the People's Republic of China. These cities have the same rank as provinces, and form part of the first tier of administrative divisions of China.

References

  1. "GeoHive - Largest cities (without surrounding urban areas)". web.archive.org. 2016-12-05. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  2. "More than 100 Chinese cities now above 1 million people". Guardian. March 20, 2017.
  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: Provinces and Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2019-06-18.