List of cities in China by population

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]

  1. ^ "Population Statistics 2023". National Bureau of Statistics of China. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  2. ^ "Interpreting the changes in Chengdu's permanent population from three dimensions". Sichuan Provincial People's Government Website. March 25, 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  3. ^ "Population and ethnicity of Guangzhou 2023". Guangzhou Municipal People's Government. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  4. ^ Maggie Hiufu Wong. "Megacities and more: A guide to China's most impressive urban centers". CNN. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. ^ 张洁. "Chongqing, Chengdu top new first-tier cities by population". China Daily. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  6. ^ "17 Chinese cities have a population of over 10 million in 2021". www.ecns.cn. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  7. ^ 孙迟. "China's inland rides waves of innovation, new opportunities". global.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 31 May 2022. 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.
  8. ^ Demographia (March 2013). Demographia World Urban Areas (PDF) (9th ed.). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2013.
  9. ^ OECD Urban Policy Reviews: China 2015. OECD. 18 April 2015. p. 37. doi:10.1787/9789264230040-en. ISBN 9789264230033.
  10. ^ 2015年重庆常住人口3016.55万人 继续保持增长态势 (in Chinese). Chongqing News. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  11. ^ "Meet China's 113 Cities With More Than 1 Million People". Visual Capitalist. February 6, 2020.