List of capitals in 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

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

Sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals

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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

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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 Siming
Guangdong Shenzhen 深圳市 1988 2,050 10,358,381 10,358,381 Futian
Liaoning Dalian 大连市 1984 13,237 8,106,171 4,222,409 Xigang
Shandong Qingdao 青岛市 1986 11,026 8,715,087 4,556,077 Shinan
Zhejiang Ningbo 宁波市 1987 9,816 7,605,689 2,823,065 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

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