China Cities by Population 2026
5 Most Populated China Cities
| City | 2026 Pop. ↓ | Annual Change |
|---|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24,722,254 | 1.93% |
| Beijing | 21,571,693 | 2.06% |
| Shenzhen | 20,622,629 | 2.64% |
| Guangzhou | 18,515,410 | 2.23% |
| Chengdu | 15,831,571 | 2.44% |
| Tianjin | 12,361,093 | 1.8% |
| Wuhan | 11,746,708 | 1.81% |
| Dongguan | 11,485,606 | 2.74% |
| Chongqing | 10,933,060 | 2.1% |
| Xi'an | 10,738,037 | 2.13% |
| Hangzhou | 10,697,657 | 2.33% |
| Foshan | 10,673,812 | 2.61% |
| Nanjing | 8,562,383 | 2.07% |
| Shenyang | 7,701,267 | 1.48% |
| Zhengzhou | 7,487,991 | 2.34% |
| Qingdao | 7,080,465 | 2.2% |
| Suzhou | 6,911,912 | 2.52% |
| Changsha | 6,494,068 | 2.27% |
| Jinan | 6,436,275 | 2.08% |
| Kunming | 6,061,121 | 2.21% |
| Hefei | 5,930,446 | 2.52% |
| Shijiazhuang | 5,869,423 | 2.26% |
| Harbin | 5,760,502 | 1.52% |
| Dalian | 5,521,027 | 1.87% |
| Xiamen | 5,471,952 | 2.67% |
| Nanning | 5,320,113 | 2.36% |
| Changchun | 5,110,411 | 1.84% |
| Taiyuan | 4,831,308 | 1.85% |
| Guiyang | 4,588,310 | 2.1% |
| Wuxi | 4,582,705 | 2.33% |
| Zhongshan | 4,541,011 | 2.63% |
| Urumqi | 4,385,217 | 2.11% |
| Ningbo | 4,320,326 | 2.33% |
| Fuzhou | 4,269,451 | 2.18% |
| Shantou | 4,249,275 | 1.64% |
| Nanchang | 4,027,247 | 2.15% |
| Changzhou | 3,711,170 | 2.41% |
| Nantong | 3,474,235 | 2.39% |
| Huizhou | 3,412,671 | 2.57% |
| Lanzhou | 3,354,151 | 1.73% |
| Xuzhou | 3,247,552 | 2.11% |
| Linyi | 3,211,011 | 2.49% |
| Zibo | 3,125,463 | 2.04% |
| Wenzhou | 3,030,849 | 2.53% |
| Tangshan | 2,841,172 | 1.74% |
| Haikou | 2,727,405 | 2.37% |
| Hohhot | 2,715,016 | 2.14% |
| Shaoxing | 2,713,087 | 2.39% |
| Yantai | 2,684,197 | 2.37% |
| Zhuhai | 2,574,666 | 2.44% |
| Luoyang | 2,521,653 | 1.96% |
| Liuzhou | 2,508,650 | 2.06% |
| Handan | 2,408,684 | 2.22% |
| Yangzhou | 2,389,666 | 2.3% |
| Baotou | 2,323,692 | 1.6% |
| Weifang | 2,287,356 | 2.15% |
| Baoding | 2,214,667 | 2.11% |
| Huai'an | 2,110,834 | 2.48% |
| Ganzhou | 2,086,733 | 2.53% |
| Jiangmen | 2,086,560 | 2.38% |
| Datong | 1,987,839 | 1.52% |
| Kunshan | 1,973,206 | 2.79% |
| Zunyi | 1,932,724 | 2.27% |
| Yinchuan | 1,928,110 | 2.35% |
| Xiangyang | 1,920,516 | 2.07% |
| Xining | 1,881,962 | 1.85% |
| Jining | 1,850,655 | 1.37% |
| Wuhu | 1,834,285 | 2.19% |
| Putian | 1,821,529 | 2.65% |
| Mianyang | 1,790,980 | 2.3% |
| Daqing | 1,776,920 | 1.65% |
| Yiwu | 1,746,582 | 2.6% |
| Qinhuangdao | 1,744,875 | 2.19% |
| Taizhou | 1,729,645 | 2.41% |
| Quanzhou | 1,725,800 | 2.54% |
| Xingtai | 1,712,952 | 2.31% |
| Zhuzhou | 1,711,295 | 2% |
| Cixi | 1,705,623 | 2.48% |
| Jinjiang | 1,694,964 | 2.82% |
| Nanyang | 1,632,090 | 2.35% |
| Tai'an | 1,616,764 | 2.11% |
| Jilin | 1,585,983 | 0.81% |
| Shangrao | 1,583,656 | 2.61% |
| Zhanjiang | 1,577,776 | 1.91% |
| Jiangyin | 1,575,170 | 2.65% |
| Yancheng | 1,556,374 | 2.22% |
| Weihai | 1,554,203 | 2.36% |
| Taizhou | 1,550,745 | 2.22% |
| Zaozhuang | 1,544,258 | 2.14% |
| Guilin | 1,538,844 | 1.96% |
| Anshan | 1,531,601 | 0.56% |
| Maoming | 1,491,028 | 2.09% |
| Zhangjiakou | 1,479,923 | 1.61% |
| Heze | 1,475,478 | 2.1% |
| Chaozhou | 1,452,592 | 2.33% |
| Jieyang | 1,452,295 | 2.46% |
| Yichang | 1,452,027 | 1.96% |
| Changshu | 1,447,575 | 2.56% |
| Nanchong | 1,433,721 | 2.13% |
| Xinxiang | 1,427,659 | 1.86% |
| Qingyuan | 1,416,880 | 2.65% |
| Jiaxing | 1,383,109 | 2.4% |
| Fuyang | 1,383,005 | 2.36% |
| Huainan | 1,361,846 | 1.32% |
| Xianyang | 1,345,027 | 1.92% |
| Anyang | 1,336,053 | 1.88% |
| Kaifeng | 1,332,913 | 1.77% |
| Hengyang | 1,325,705 | 1.8% |
| Dazhou | 1,325,313 | 2.44% |
| Rizhao | 1,325,199 | 2.29% |
| Luzhou | 1,286,949 | 2.1% |
| Suqian | 1,280,787 | 2.66% |
| Zhenjiang | 1,278,222 | 2.05% |
| Yueyang | 1,277,946 | 2.03% |
| Yibin | 1,261,709 | 2.17% |
| Zhangjiagang | 1,255,134 | 2.72% |
| Changde | 1,254,536 | 2.09% |
| Huzhou | 1,251,744 | 2.29% |
| Baoji | 1,248,457 | 1.92% |
| Lu'an | 1,244,413 | 2.39% |
| Chifeng | 1,240,315 | 2.02% |
| Lianyungang | 1,221,093 | 2.09% |
| Fushun | 1,215,614 | -0.18% |
| Jinhua | 1,211,434 | 2.4% |
| Bengbu | 1,197,039 | 1.69% |
| Shangqiu | 1,196,775 | 2.36% |
| Yuyao | 1,183,899 | 2.45% |
| Rui'an | 1,181,327 | 2.44% |
| Changzhi | 1,177,708 | 1.88% |
| Zhaoqing | 1,177,389 | 2.05% |
| Xinyang | 1,175,268 | 2.33% |
| Liaocheng | 1,172,346 | 2.21% |
| Pingdingshan | 1,154,625 | 1.59% |
| Qujing | 1,138,594 | 2.44% |
| Jinzhou | 1,109,015 | 1.33% |
| Nan'an | 1,106,923 | 2.63% |
| Puning | 1,104,199 | 2.61% |
| Dongying | 1,092,627 | 2.04% |
| Tengzhou | 1,091,187 | 2.4% |
| Panjin | 1,090,457 | 1.71% |
| Yueqing | 1,089,512 | 2.19% |
| Jiujiang | 1,088,544 | 2.05% |
| Guigang | 1,084,994 | 2.58% |
| Xiangtan | 1,083,681 | 1.65% |
| Shiyan | 1,078,127 | 1.94% |
| Wenling | 1,064,904 | 2.31% |
| Liuyang | 1,053,117 | 2.71% |
| Suzhou | 1,051,120 | 2.11% |
| Jingzhou | 1,046,117 | 1.55% |
| Yixing | 1,035,678 | 2.4% |
| Hengshui | 1,030,124 | 2.4% |
| Qiqihar | 1,028,891 | -0.01% |
| Langfang | 1,026,427 | 2.33% |
| Yulin | 1,013,931 | 2.29% |
| Pizhou | 1,006,556 | 2.65% |
| Xuchang | 977,783 | 2.22% |
| Zhangzhou | 975,922 | 2.28% |
| Dezhou | 969,233 | 2.21% |
| Suining | 966,024 | 2.41% |
| Jiaozuo | 964,708 | 1.58% |
| Yangjiang | 962,285 | 1.81% |
| Zigong | 960,978 | 1.63% |
| Chenzhou | 949,612 | 2.33% |
| Puyang | 946,565 | 2.2% |
| Luohe | 945,433 | 2.49% |
| Huaibei | 941,507 | 2% |
| Xinzheng | 931,063 | 2.64% |
| Danyang | 928,260 | 2.5% |
| Leshan | 907,524 | 1.96% |
| Ningxiang | 906,498 | 2.79% |
| Sanhe | 902,355 | 2.7% |
| Rugao | 898,514 | 2.6% |
| Qinzhou | 895,901 | 2.38% |
| Shaoguan | 893,450 | 1.71% |
| Zhuji | 885,542 | 2.36% |
| Zhumadian | 879,030 | 2.42% |
| Ma'anshan | 876,044 | 1.77% |
| Fuqing | 872,088 | 2.49% |
| Bozhou | 866,901 | 2.29% |
| Haining | 865,999 | 2.23% |
| Xintai | 865,020 | 1.77% |
| Cangzhou | 862,758 | 2.04% |
| Yiyang | 859,991 | 2.01% |
| Mudanjiang | 858,142 | 0.98% |
| Tianshui | 855,539 | 2.04% |
| Laiwu | 851,698 | 1.8% |
| Zoucheng | 851,319 | 1.9% |
| Xiaogan | 850,542 | 2.16% |
| Huludao | 845,196 | 1.62% |
| Xiantao | 836,056 | 1.7% |
| Benxi | 825,423 | 0.35% |
| Liaoyang | 819,706 | 1.14% |
| Dandong | 791,551 | 0.9% |
| Lhasa | 657,317 | 2.29% |
| Jixi | 616,668 | -0.25% |
China Overview
The largest city in China is Shanghai, with a population of 24,722,254 people.
Three Levels of Cities
The administrative divisions of China designate cities into three levels. Provincial-level cities include municipalities and the country’s Special Administrative Regions, county-level cities, and prefectural-level cities. China has a total of 662 cities that fall into these three categories, with Shanghai boasting the largest population at over 24.7M residents. The country has a total of 34 provinces that house its cities.
The Six Tiers
Cities in China are broken down into tiers, particularly when they are being discussed in the media. These tiers are designated using set criteria, including population size, infrastructure and economic outlook. Tier I cities include the centrally-administrated municipalities of Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Beijing, each of which have a population exceeding 10 million. Tier II cities include the larger cities of China including but not limited to Guiyang, Nanjing, and Qingdao. Tier III cities are not as developed as Tier II cities but many that fall into this category are considered to be economically significant. Tier IV and Tier V cities round out the majority of the country’s urban population.
Population
6.1M
7.5M
10M
24.7M