As of 2023, the five largest cities in China by population areChongqing (31.91 million),Shanghai (24.87 million),Beijing (21.86 million),Chengdu (21.403 million) andGuangzhou (18.827 million).[1][2][3] As of 2024, there are 18megacities[4][5] (cities with a population of over 10 million), includingChongqing,Shanghai,Beijing,Chengdu,Guangzhou,Shenzhen,Wuhan,Tianjin,Xi'an,Suzhou,Zhengzhou,Hangzhou,Shijiazhuang,Linyi,Dongguan,Qingdao,Changsha andHefei.[6][7]
Among them, the total permanent population of Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu is above 20 million.[8] Shanghai is China's most populous urban area,[9][10] while Chongqing is its largestcity proper, the only city in China with the largest permanent population of over 30 million.[11]
As of 2021, there were 113 Chinese cities with over 1 million people in urban areas.[12]
According to theadministrative divisions of China, there are three major levels of cities, namelydirect-administered municipalities (直辖市),prefecture-level cities (地级市), andcounty-level cities (县级市). Not included in this administrative classification list are thespecial administrative regions (特别行政区) ofHong Kong andMacau as well as thecities controlled by theRepublic of China. Prefecture-level cities nearly always contain multiplecounties (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 theurban core (a city in the strict sense) and surroundingrural or less-urbanized areas.[13] 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 3,000 square kilometres (1,000 sq mi), 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 2013Chongqing 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.[14]
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),[15] 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.
| Legend: |
| Direct-Administered Municipality | |
| City with Independent Planning Status | |
| Sub-Provincial City | |
| Prefecture-Level City |
| City | Province | 2020 Census[16] | 2010 Census[17] | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai#* | municipality | 21,909,814 | 20,217,748 | +8.37% |
| Beijing⍟# | municipality | 18,960,744 | 16,704,306 | +13.51% |
| Shenzhen#~ | Guangdong | 17,444,609 | 10,358,381 | +68.41% |
| Guangzhou#* | Guangdong | 16,096,724 | 10,641,408 | +51.26% |
| Chengdu#* | Sichuan | 13,568,357 | 7,791,692 | +74.14% |
| Tianjin#† | municipality | 11,052,404 | 9,528,277 | +16.00% |
| Wuhan#* | Hubei | 10,494,879 | 7,541,527 | +39.16% |
| Dongguan | Guangdong | 9,644,871 | 7,271,322 | +32.64% |
| Chongqing#* | municipality | 9,580,819 | 6,263,790 | +52.96% |
| Xi'an#* | Shaanxi | 9,392,938 | 5,403,052 | +73.85% |
| Hangzhou* | Zhejiang | 9,236,032 | 5,849,537 | +57.89% |
| Foshan | Guangdong | 9,042,509 | 6,771,895 | +33.53% |
| Nanjing* | Jiangsu | 7,519,814 | 5,827,888 | +29.03% |
| Shenyang* | Liaoning | 7,026,358 | 5,718,232 | +22.88% |
| Zhengzhou#* | Henan | 6,461,013 | 3,677,032 | +75.71% |
| Qingdao~ | Shandong | 6,165,279 | 4,556,077 | +35.32% |
| Suzhou | Jiangsu | 5,892,892 | 3,721,700 | +58.34% |
| Jinan* | Shandong | 5,648,162 | 3,641,562 | +55.10% |
| Changsha* | Hunan | 5,630,256 | 3,193,354 | +76.31% |
| Kunming* | Yunnan | 5,273,144 | 3,385,363 | +55.76% |
| Harbin* | Heilongjiang | 5,242,897 | 4,596,313 | +14.07% |
| Shijiazhuang* | Hebei | 5,090,440 | 3,095,219 | +64.46% |
| Hefei* | Anhui | 5,055,978 | 3,098,727 | +63.16% |
| Dalian~ | Liaoning | 4,913,879 | 3,902,467 | +25.92% |
| Xiamen† | Fujian | 4,617,251 | 3,119,110 | +48.03% |
| Nanning* | Guangxi | 4,582,703 | 2,660,833 | +72.23% |
| Changchun* | Jilin | 4,557,356 | 3,411,209 | +33.60% |
| Taiyuan* | Shanxi | 4,303,673 | 3,154,157 | +36.44% |
| Guiyang* | Guizhou | 4,021,275 | 2,520,061 | +59.57% |
| Wuxi | Jiangsu | 3,956,985 | 2,757,736 | +43.49% |
| Ürümqi* | Xinjiang | 3,842,560 | 2,853,398 | +34.67% |
| Zhongshan | Guangdong | 3,841,873 | 2,740,994 | +40.16% |
| Shantou† | Guangdong | 3,838,900 | 3,644,017 | +5.35% |
| Ningbo~ | Zhejiang | 3,731,203 | 2,583,073 | +44.45% |
| Fuzhou*~ | Fujian | 3,723,454 | 3,102,421 | +20.02% |
| Nanchang* | Jiangxi | 3,518,975 | 2,614,380 | +34.60% |
| Changzhou | Jiangsu | 3,187,315 | 2,257,376 | +41.20% |
| Lanzhou* | Gansu | 3,012,577 | 2,438,595 | +23.54% |
| Nantong~ | Jiangsu | 2,987,600 | 1,612,385 | +85.29% |
| Huizhou | Guangdong | 2,900,113 | 1,807,858 | +60.42% |
| Xuzhou | Jiangsu | 2,845,552 | 2,214,795 | +28.48% |
| Zibo | Shandong | 2,750,312 | 2,261,717 | +21.60% |
| Linyi | Shandong | 2,743,843 | 1,522,488 | +80.22% |
| Wenzhou~ | Zhejiang | 2,582,017 | 2,686,825 | −3.90% |
| Tangshan | Hebei | 2,549,968 | 2,128,191 | +19.82% |
| Hohhot* | Inner Mongolia | 2,373,399 | 1,497,110 | +58.53% |
| Haikou* | Hainan | 2,349,239 | 1,517,410 | +54.82% |
| Shaoxing | Zhejiang | 2,333,080 | 1,725,726 | +35.19% |
| Yantai~ | Shandong | 2,311,885 | 1,797,861 | +28.59% |
| Luoyang | Henan | 2,230,661 | 1,584,463 | +40.78% |
| Zhuhai | Guangdong | 2,207,090 | 1,369,538 | +61.16% |
| Liuzhou | Guangxi | 2,204,841 | 1,410,712 | +56.29% |
| Baotou | Inner Mongolia | 2,104,114 | 1,874,323 | +12.26% |
| Handan | Hebei | 2,095,134 | 1,540,827 | +35.97% |
| Yangzhou | Jiangsu | 2,067,254 | 1,584,237 | +30.49% |
| Weifang | Shandong | 1,998,405 | 1,161,582 | +72.04% |
| Baoding | Hebei | 1,940,384 | 1,397,350 | +38.86% |
| Datong | Shanxi | 1,809,505 | 1,420,467 | +27.39% |
| Huai'an | Jiangsu | 1,804,611 | 1,523,655 | +18.44% |
| Jiangmen | Guangdong | 1,795,459 | 1,480,023 | +21.31% |
| Ganzhou | Jiangxi | 1,778,132 | 1,035,911 | +71.65% |
| Jining | Shandong | 1,700,054 | 1,327,483 | +28.07% |
| Xiangyang | Hubei | 1,686,403 | 1,433,057 | +17.68% |
| Xining* | Qinghai | 1,677,177 | 1,227,209 | +36.67% |
| Zunyi | Guizhou | 1,675,245 | 995,311 | +68.31% |
| Yinchuan* | Ningxia | 1,662,968 | 1,159,457 | +43.43% |
| Kunshan | Jiangsu | 1,652,159 | 1,118,617 | +47.70% |
| Daqing | Heilongjiang | 1,604,027 | 1,433,698 | +11.88% |
| Wuhu | Anhui | 1,598,165 | 1,108,087 | +44.23% |
| Mianyang | Sichuan | 1,549,499 | 1,063,272 | +45.73% |
| Putian | Fujian | 1,539,389 | 1,107,199 | +39.03% |
| Qinhuangdao | Hebei | 1,520,199 | 1,088,587 | +39.65% |
| Zhuzhou | Hunan | 1,510,148 | 1,093,730 | +38.07% |
| Jilin | Jilin | 1,509,292 | 1,469,722 | +2.69% |
| Taizhou | Zhejiang | 1,485,502 | 1,189,276 | +24.91% |
| Yiwu | Zhejiang | 1,481,384 | 878,903 | +68.55% |
| Xingtai | Hebei | 1,480,754 | 1,060,749 | +39.60% |
| Anshan | Liaoning | 1,480,332 | 1,504,996 | −1.64% |
| Quanzhou | Fujian | 1,469,157 | 1,154,731 | +27.23% |
| Cixi | Zhejiang | 1,457,510 | 1,059,942 | +37.51% |
| Tai'an | Shandong | 1,416,591 | 1,123,541 | +26.08% |
| Jinjiang | Fujian | 1,416,151 | 1,172,827 | +20.75% |
| Nanyang | Henan | 1,407,616 | 899,899 | +56.42% |
| Zhanjiang | Guangdong | 1,400,709 | 1,038,762 | +34.84% |
| Guilin | Guangxi | 1,361,244 | 963,629 | +41.26% |
| Yancheng | Jiangsu | 1,353,475 | 1,136,826 | +19.06% |
| Zaozhuang | Shandong | 1,349,883 | 980,893 | +37.62% |
| Taizhou | Jiangsu | 1,348,327 | 1,053,601 | +27.97% |
| Shangrao | Jiangxi | 1,342,220 | 885,740 | +51.54% |
| Weihai | Shandong | 1,339,645 | 1,009,491 | +32.70% |
| Zhangjiakou | Hebei | 1,339,384 | 1,180,667 | +13.44% |
| Jiangyin | Jiangsu | 1,331,352 | 1,013,670 | +31.34% |
| Maoming | Guangdong | 1,307,802 | 1,033,196 | +26.58% |
| Heze | Shandong | 1,293,767 | 725,673 | +78.29% |
| Yichang | Hubei | 1,284,305 | 1,049,363 | +22.39% |
| Xinxiang | Henan | 1,271,350 | 918,078 | +38.48% |
| Huainan | Anhui | 1,255,619 | 1,238,488 | +1.38% |
| Nanchong | Sichuan | 1,254,455 | 890,402 | +40.89% |
| Chaozhou | Guangdong | 1,254,007 | 1,256,268 | −0.18% |
| Jieyang | Guangdong | 1,242,906 | 1,226,848 | +1.31% |
| Changshu | Jiangsu | 1,230,599 | 929,124 | +32.45% |
| Fushun | Liaoning | 1,228,890 | 1,318,808 | −6.82% |
| Qingyuan | Guangdong | 1,197,581 | 916,453 | +30.68% |
| Kaifeng | Henan | 1,193,802 | 894,142 | +33.51% |
| Xianyang | Shaanxi | 1,192,776 | 730,704 | +63.24% |
| Fuyang | Anhui | 1,191,810 | 780,522 | +52.69% |
| Jiaxing | Zhejiang | 1,188,321 | 762,643 | +55.82% |
| Anyang | Henan | 1,187,772 | 908,129 | +30.79% |
| Hengyang | Hunan | 1,185,130 | 1,055,964 | +12.23% |
| Rizhao | Shandong | 1,147,175 | 902,272 | +27.14% |
| Dazhou | Sichuan | 1,135,817 | 678,690 | +67.35% |
| Luzhou | Sichuan | 1,128,479 | 742,274 | +52.03% |
| Yueyang | Hunan | 1,125,448 | 924,099 | +21.79% |
| Zhenjiang | Jiangsu | 1,123,813 | 950,516 | +18.23% |
| Baoji | Shaanxi | 1,107,702 | 871,940 | +27.04% |
| Yibin | Sichuan | 1,100,737 | 708,447 | +55.37% |
| Changde | Hunan | 1,100,719 | 846,308 | +30.06% |
| Chifeng | Inner Mongolia | 1,093,068 | 902,285 | +21.14% |
| Huzhou | Zhejiang | 1,083,953 | 748,471 | +44.82% |
| Suqian | Jiangsu | 1,081,559 | 783,376 | +38.06% |
| Wanzhou District | Chongqing municipality | 1,078,149 | 859,662 | +25.42% |
| Bengbu | Anhui | 1,077,704 | 793,866 | +35.75% |
| Lianyungang | Jiangsu | 1,071,019 | 897,393 | +19.35% |
| Lu'an | Anhui | 1,069,940 | 661,217 | +61.81% |
| Zhangjiagang | Jiangsu | 1,055,893 | 762,625 | +38.46% |
| Changzhi | Shanxi | 1,047,461 | 848,227 | +23.49% |
| Pingdingshan | Henan | 1,045,966 | 813,020 | +28.65% |
| Jinhua | Zhejiang | 1,040,948 | 710,597 | +46.49% |
| Zhaoqing | Guangdong | 1,035,810 | 784,642 | +32.01% |
| Shangqiu | Henan | 1,031,123 | 618,549 | +66.70% |
| Qiqihar | Heilongjiang | 1,029,522 | 1,033,174 | −0.35% |
| Jinzhou | Liaoning | 1,021,478 | 946,098 | +7.97% |
| Liaocheng | Shandong | 1,020,430 | 606,366 | +68.29% |
| Xinyang | Henan | 1,014,843 | 625,302 | +62.30% |
| Yuyao | Zhejiang | 1,013,866 | 672,909 | +50.67% |
| Rui'an | Zhejiang | 1,012,731 | 927,383 | +9.20% |
China cities and towns by urban population (2020–2021)
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 orcounty-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).
| City | Province-level division | 2020 Census[18] | 2010 Census[19] | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puning | Guangdong | 935,668 | 874,954 | +6.94% |
| Yangjiang | Guangdong | 859,595 | 692,540 | +24.12% |
| Jiangjin | Chongqing | 817,888 | 686,189 | +19.19% |
| Yongchuan | Chongqing | 803,458 | 582,769 | +37.87% |
| Shaoguan | Guangdong | 803,375 | 726,267 | +10.62% |
| Fuling | Chongqing | 801,151 | 595,224 | +34.60% |
| Hechuan | Chongqing | 795,780 | 721,753 | +10.26% |
| Boluo | Guangdong | 712,593 | 471,902 | +51.00% |
| Meizhou | Guangdong | 694,495 | 612,551 | +13.38% |
| Heyuan | Guangdong | 662,950 | 450,953 | +47.01% |
| Huidong | Guangdong | 640,377 | 473,147 | +35.34% |
| Kaizhou | Chongqing | 608,485 | 416,415 | +46.12% |
| Lhasa | Tibet | 568,927 | 220,252 | +158.31% |
| Lufeng | Guangdong | 545,474 | 579,527 | −5.88% |
| Haifeng | Guangdong | 537,278 | 489,304 | +9.80% |
| Bishan | Chongqing | 535,680 | 246,425 | +117.38% |
| Dazu | Chongqing | 505,131 | 315,183 | +60.27% |
| Qijiang | Chongqing | 500,510 | 328,573 | +52.33% |
| Yunyang | Chongqing | 491,309 | 293,636 | +67.32% |
| Gaozhou | Guangdong | 490,301 | 352,006 | +39.29% |
| Changshou | Chongqing | 484,331 | 408,261 | +18.63% |
| Huazhou | Guangdong | 472,746 | 320,418 | +47.54% |
| Sihui | Guangdong | 452,536 | 355,709 | +27.22% |
| Lianjiang | Guangdong | 443,812 | 359,225 | +23.55% |
| Huilai | Guangdong | 437,430 | 434,958 | +0.57% |
| Taishan | Guangdong | 433,266 | 394,855 | +9.73% |
| Kaiping | Guangdong | 430,035 | 371,019 | +15.91% |
| Tongliang | Chongqing | 423,008 | 248,962 | +69.91% |
| Shizuishan | Ningxia | 422,043 | 403,901 | +4.49% |
| Xinyi | Guangdong | 418,731 | 333,965 | +25.38% |
| Leizhou | Guangdong | 412,291 | 344,043 | +19.84% |
| Tongnan | Chongqing | 401,323 | 247,084 | +62.42% |
| Wuzhong | Ningxia | 400,677 | 232,134 | +72.61% |
| Rongchang | Chongqing | 400,527 | 271,232 | +47.67% |
| Yingde | Guangdong | 398,066 | 346,927 | +14.74% |
| Raoping | Guangdong | 394,636 | 418,709 | −5.75% |
| Wuchuan | Guangdong | 388,714 | 332,672 | +16.85% |
| Yunfu | Guangdong | 380,044 | 298,914 | +27.14% |
| Fengjie | Chongqing | 368,869 | 269,302 | +36.97% |
| Xingning | Guangdong | 365,661 | 392,000 | −6.72% |
| Yangchun | Guangdong | 360,359 | 287,391 | +25.39% |
| Nanchuan | Chongqing | 348,987 | 255,045 | +36.83% |
| Zhongxian | Chongqing | 348,004 | 247,406 | +40.66% |
| Shanwei | Guangdong | 345,373 | 370,608 | −6.81% |
| Heshan | Guangdong | 334,432 | 282,580 | +18.35% |
| Wuhua | Guangdong | 331,583 | 245,631 | +34.99% |
| Liangping | Chongqing | 323,483 | 235,753 | +37.21% |
| Dianjiang | Chongqing | 320,460 | 241,424 | +32.74% |
| Luoding | Guangdong | 317,060 | 263,338 | +20.40% |
| Suixi | Guangdong | 289,536 | 252,792 | +14.54% |
| Qianjiang | Chongqing | 288,462 | 173,997 | +65.79% |
| Fengdu | Chongqing | 274,294 | 224,003 | +22.45% |
| Guyuan | Ningxia | 267,810 | 130,155 | +105.76% |
| Youyang | Chongqing | 256,260 | 137,635 | +86.19% |
| Pengshui | Chongqing | 256,007 | 137,409 | +86.31% |
| Fengshun | Guangdong | 254,264 | 207,417 | +22.59% |
| Enping | Guangdong | 251,742 | 244,257 | +3.06% |
| Zhongwei | Ningxia | 249,307 | 160,279 | +55.55% |
| Xuwen | Guangdong | 238,402 | 238,246 | +0.07% |
| Shizhu | Chongqing | 225,190 | 134,173 | +67.84% |
| Xiushan | Chongqing | 224,955 | 150,566 | +49.41% |
| Helan | Ningxia | 222,070 | 83,382 | +166.33% |
| Huaiji | Guangdong | 221,882 | 161,544 | +37.35% |
| Jiexi | Guangdong | 209,233 | 247,236 | −15.37% |
| Yongning | Ningxia | 207,698 | 76,590 | +171.18% |
| Zijin | Guangdong | 207,394 | 231,072 | −10.25% |
| Datong | Qinghai | 205,729 | 144,484 | +42.39% |
| Lingwu | Ningxia | 200,920 | 125,976 | +59.49% |
| Wushan | Chongqing | 200,671 | 148,597 | +35.04% |
| Lechang | Guangdong | 199,438 | 191,457 | +4.17% |
| Longchuan | Guangdong | 197,714 | 190,368 | +3.86% |
| Golmud | Qinghai | 197,153 | 186,341 | +5.80% |
| Yangxi | Guangdong | 189,866 | 153,771 | +23.47% |
| Wansheng | Chongqing | 187,007 | 185,382 | +0.88% |
| Xinxing | Guangdong | 185,930 | 160,209 | +16.05% |
| Lianzhou | Guangdong | 176,572 | 161,667 | +9.22% |
| Wulong | Chongqing | 175,838 | 115,823 | +51.82% |
| Nanxiong | Guangdong | 171,215 | 140,017 | +22.28% |
| Guangning | Guangdong | 164,249 | 156,304 | +5.08% |
| Zhongning | Ningxia | 163,702 | 106,745 | +53.36% |
| Pingluo | Ningxia | 163,459 | 94,095 | +73.72% |
| Yunan | Guangdong | 160,255 | 152,342 | +5.19% |
| Wuxi | Chongqing | 156,732 | 105,111 | +49.11% |
| Dabu | Guangdong | 154,719 | 161,014 | −3.91% |
| Yangshan | Guangdong | 154,401 | 125,246 | +23.28% |
| Longmen | Guangdong | 146,193 | 90,831 | +60.95% |
| Qingtongxia | Ningxia | 142,349 | 99,367 | +43.26% |
| Tongxin | Ningxia | 140,077 | 104,261 | +34.35% |
| Fogang | Guangdong | 136,789 | 118,429 | +15.50% |
| Luhe | Guangdong | 133,178 | 150,902 | −11.75% |
| Minhe | Qinghai | 131,715 | 80,600 | +63.42% |
| Ledu | Qinghai | 125,048 | 69,939 | +78.80% |
| Fengkai | Guangdong | 124,170 | 116,798 | +6.31% |
| Huzhu | Qinghai | 122,069 | 57,489 | +112.33% |
| Haiyuan | Ningxia | 117,462 | 51,815 | +126.69% |
| Heping | Guangdong | 115,301 | 103,233 | +11.69% |
| Wengyuan | Guangdong | 114,951 | 103,372 | +11.20% |
| Lianping | Guangdong | 105,906 | 110,851 | −4.46% |
| Xinfeng | Guangdong | 102,680 | 99,897 | +2.79% |
| Jiaoling | Guangdong | 101,777 | 98,287 | +3.55% |
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.
