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Administrative divisions of China |
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History: before 1912, 1912–49, 1949–present Administrative division codes |
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
Legend:
Capital
Direct-administered municipality
East
South
West
North
Central
Special Administrative Region (SAR)- Note: The People's Republic of China claims Taiwan as one of its provinces, which it does not control.
| Jurisdiction | Capital | Chinese | Capital since | Land area (km²) |
Population (2020) |
Urban area population (2020) |
Symbol | Seat | Map |
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| Anhui | Hefei | 合肥市 | 1853 | 11,434 | 9,369,881 | 5,118,199 | 庐 | Shushan |
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Beijing (Municipality) |
Beijing | 北京市 | 1927 | 16,801 | 21,893,095 | 21,893,095 | 京 | Tongzhou |
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Chongqing (Municipality) |
Chongqing | 重庆市 | 1927 | 82,401 | 32,054,159 | 22,251,500 | 渝 | Yuzhong |
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| Fujian | Fuzhou | 福州市 | 1278 | 12,177 | 8,291,268 | 4,094,491 | 榕 | Gulou |
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| Gansu | Lanzhou | 兰州市 | 1667 | 13,300 | 4,359,446 | 3,072,100 | 兰 | Chengguan |
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| Guangdong | Guangzhou | 广州市 | 1369 | 7,434 | 18,676,605 | 16,492,590 | 穗 | Yuexiu |
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Guangxi (Autonomous region) |
Nanning | 南宁市 | 1912 | 22,189 | 8,741,584 | 5,977,185 | 邕 | Qingxiu |
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| Guizhou | Guiyang | 贵阳市 | 1413 | 8,034 | 5,987,018 | 4,506,134 | 筑 | Guanshanhu |
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| Hainan | Haikou | 海口市 | 1988 | 2,237 | 2,046,189 | 2,046,189 | 海 | Xiuying |
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| Hebei | Shijiazhuang | 石家庄市 | 1968 | 15,722 | 11,235,086 | 4,717,198 | 石 | Chang'an |
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| Heilongjiang | Harbin | 哈尔滨市 | 1949 | 53,100 | 10,009,854 | 7,152,381 | 哈 | Songbei |
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| Henan | Zhengzhou | 郑州市 | 1954 | 7,507 | 12,600,574 | 6,650,532 | 郑 | Zhongyuan |
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Hong Kong (Special administrative region) |
Hong Kong | 香港特别行政区 | 1997 | 1,104 | 7,481,800 | 7,481,800 | 港 | Central & Western |
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| Hubei | Wuhan | 武汉市 | 1927 | 8,494 | 12,326,500 | 12,326,500 | 汉 | Jiang'an |
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| Hunan | Changsha | 长沙市 | 1664 | 11,819 | 10,047,914 | 6,242,453 | 星 | Yuelu |
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Inner Mongolia (Autonomous region) |
Hohhot | 呼和浩特市 | 1952 | 17,224 | 3,446,100 | 2,681,758 | 呼 | Xincheng |
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| Jiangsu | Nanjing | 南京市 | 1952 | 6,598 | 9,314,685 | 9,314,685 | 宁 | Xuanwu |
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| Jiangxi | Nanchang | 南昌市 | 1277 | 7,372 | 6,255,007 | 3,929,660 | 洪 | Honggutan |
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| Jilin | Changchun | 长春市 | 1954 | 20,532 | 9,066,906 | 5,691,024 | 春 | Nanguan |
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| Liaoning | Shenyang | 沈阳市 | 1662 | 12,942 | 9,070,093 | 7,885,142 | 沈 | Hunnan |
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Macau (Special administrative region) |
Macau | 澳门特别行政区 | 1999 | 29 | 683,100 | 683,100 | 澳 | São Lourenço |
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Ningxia (Autonomous region) |
Yinchuan | 银川市 | 1928 | 4,467 | 2,859,074 | 1,901,793 | 银 | Jinfeng |
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| Qinghai | Xining | 西宁市 | 1928 | 7,372 | 2,467,965 | 1,954,795 | 湟 | Chengzhong |
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| Shaanxi | Xi'an | 西安市 | 1286 | 9,983 | 12,952,907 | 11,904,805 | 镐 | Weiyang |
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| Shandong | Jinan | 济南市 | 1377 | 8,177 | 9,202,432 | 8,352,574 | 济 | Lixia |
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Shanghai (Municipality) |
Shanghai | 上海市 | 1927 | 6,340 | 24,870,895 | 24,870,895 | 沪 | Huangpu |
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| Shanxi | Taiyuan | 太原市 | 1369 | 6,959 | 5,305,061 | 4,529,141 | 并 | Xinghualing |
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| Sichuan | Chengdu | 成都市 | 1286 | 12,132 | 20,937,757 | 15,419,445 | 蓉 | Wuhou |
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Tianjin (Municipality) |
Tianjin | 天津市 | 1927 | 11,760 | 13,866,009 | 10,932,000 | 津 | Hexi |
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Tibet (Autonomous region) |
Lhasa | 拉萨市 | 1642 | 29,274 | 867,891 | 648,044 | 拉 | Chengguan |
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Xinjiang (Autonomous region) |
Ürümqi | 乌鲁木齐市 | 1884 | 14,577 | 3,112,559 | 3,029,372 | 乌 | Tianshan |
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| Yunnan | Kunming | 昆明市 | 1275 | 21,473 | 8,460,088 | 5,604,310 | 昆 | Chenggong |
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| Zhejiang | Hangzhou | 杭州市 | 1367 | 16,847 | 11,936,010 | 10,711,238 | 杭 | Jianggan |
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Sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals
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
| Jurisdiction | City | Chinese | Designation | Land area (km²) | Population (2010) | Urban area population (2010) |
Symbol | Seat | Map |
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| Fujian | Xiamen | 厦门市 | 1988 | 1,699 | 3,531,347 | 3,119,110 | 鹭 | Siming |
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| Guangdong | Shenzhen | 深圳市 | 1988 | 2,050 | 10,358,381 | 10,358,381 | 深 | Futian |
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| Liaoning | Dalian | 大连市 | 1984 | 13,237 | 8,106,171 | 4,222,409 | 连 | Xigang |
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| Shandong | Qingdao | 青岛市 | 1986 | 11,026 | 8,715,087 | 4,556,077 | 胶 | Shinan |
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| Zhejiang | Ningbo | 宁波市 | 1987 | 9,816 | 7,605,689 | 2,823,065 | 甬 | Yinzhou |
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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.
