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] Shanghai 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]
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.