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 province but administered independently in many ways from a province.
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| Administrative divisions of China |
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History: before 1912, 1912–49, 1949–present Administrative division codes |
Provincal-level capitals
Legend：
Capital 
Direct-administered municipalities 
East 
South 
West 
North 
Central- Note: The People's Republic of China claimed Taiwan as one of its provinces which it does not control.
| Jurisdiction | Capital | Chinese | Capital since | Land area (km²) |
Population (2010) |
Urban area population (2010) |
Symbol | Seat | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anhui | Hefei | 合肥市 | 1853 | 11,323 | 7,457,027 | 3,098,727 | 庐 | Shushan |  |
| Beijing (Municipality) |
Beijing | 北京市 | 1927 | 16,801 | 19,612,368 | 16,858,692 | 京 | Tongzhou |  |
| Chongqing (Municipality) |
Chongqing | 重庆市 | 1927 | 82,401 | 28,846,170 | 13,157,502 | 渝 | Yuzhong |  |
| Fujian | Fuzhou | 福州市 | 1278 | 12,177 | 7,115,369 | 3,102,421 | 榕 | Gulou |  |
| Gansu | Lanzhou | 兰州市 | 1667 | 13,300 | 3,616,163 | 2,438,595 | 兰 | Chengguan |  |
| Guangdong | Guangzhou | 广州市 | 1369 | 7,434 | 12,701,948 | 10,641,408 | 穗 | Yuexiu |  |
| Guangxi (Autonomous region) |
Nanning | 南宁市 | 1912 | 22,189 | 6,658,742 | 2,846,882 | 邕 | Qingxiu |  |
| Guizhou | Guiyang | 贵阳市 | 1413 | 8,034 | 4,322,611 | 2,520,061 | 筑 | Guanshanhu |  |
| Hainan | Haikou | 海口市 | 1988 | 2,237 | 2,046,170 | 1,517,410 | 海 | Xiuying |  |
| Hebei | Shijiazhuang | 石家庄市 | 1968 | 15,722 | 10,163,788 | 3,232,082 | 石 | Chang'an |  |
| Heilongjiang | Harbin | 哈尔滨市 | 1949 | 53,100 | 10,635,971 | 5,177,952 | 哈 | Songbei |  |
| Henan | Zhengzhou | 郑州市 | 1954 | 7,507 | 8,627,089 | 3,677,032 | 郑 | Zhongyuan |  |
| Hong Kong (Special administrative region) |
Hong Kong | 香港特别行政区 | 1997 | 1,104 | 7,071,576 | 7,071,576 | 港 | Central & Western |  |
| Hubei | Wuhan | 武汉市 | 1927 | 8,494 | 9,785,388 | 7,541,527 | 汉 | Jiang'an |  |
| Hunan | Changsha | 长沙市 | 1664 | 11,819 | 7,040,952 | 3,193,354 | 星 | Yuelu |  |
| Inner Mongolia (Autonomous region) |
Hohhot | 呼和浩特市 | 1952 | 17,224 | 2,650,364 | 1,497,110 | 呼 | Xincheng |  |
| Jiangsu | Nanjing | 南京市 | 1952 | 6,598 | 8,003,744 | 6,238,186 | 宁 | Xuanwu |  |
| Jiangxi | Nanchang | 南昌市 | 1277 | 7,372 | 5,042,566 | 2,614,380 | 洪 | Honggutan |  |
| Jilin | Changchun | 长春市 | 1954 | 20,532 | 7,674,439 | 3,610,060 | 春 | Nanguan |  |
| Liaoning | Shenyang | 沈阳市 | 1662 | 12,942 | 8,106,171 | 5,890,671 | 沈 | Hunnan |  |
| Macau (Special administrative region) |
Macau | 澳门特别行政区 | 1999 | 29 | 552,503 | 552,503 | 澳 | São Lourenço |  |
| Ningxia (Autonomous region) |
Yinchuan | 银川市 | 1928 | 4,467 | 1,993,088 | 1,159,457 | 银 | Jinfeng |  |
| Qinghai | Xining | 西宁市 | 1928 | 7,372 | 2,208,708 | 1,153,417 | 湟 | Chengzhong |  |
| Shaanxi | Xi'an | 西安市 | 1286 | 9,983 | 8,467,838 | 5,596,083 | 镐 | Weiyang |  |
| Shandong | Jinan | 济南市 | 1377 | 8,177 | 6,813,984 | 4,119,801 | 济 | Lixia |  |
| Shanghai (Municipality) |
Shanghai | 上海市 | 1927 | 6,340 | 23,019,196 | 20,555,098 | 沪 | Huangpu |  |
| Shanxi | Taiyuan | 太原市 | 1369 | 6,959 | 4,201,592 | 3,154,157 | 并 | Xinghualing |  |
| Sichuan | Chengdu | 成都市 | 1286 | 12,132 | 15,118,839 | 7,701,692 | 蓉 | Wuhou |  |
| Tianjin (Municipality) |
Tianjin | 天津市 | 1927 | 11,760 | 12,938,693 | 10,277,893 | 津 | Hexi |  |
| Tibet (Autonomous region) |
Lhasa | 拉萨市 | 1642 | 29,274 | 559,423 | 220,252 | 拉 | Chengguan |  |
| Xinjiang (Autonomous region) |
Ürümqi | 乌鲁木齐市 | 1884 | 14,577 | 3,112,559 | 2,853,398 | 乌 | Tianshan |  |
| Yunnan | Kunming | 昆明市 | 1275 | 21,473 | 6,432,209 | 3,498,995 | 昆 | Chenggong |  |
| Zhejiang | Hangzhou | 杭州市 | 1367 | 16,847 | 8,700,373 | 6,000,545 | 杭 | Jianggan |  |
| Taiwan (Claimed Province) |
Taipei | 台北 | 1887 | — | — | — | 北 | — |  |
Sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals
Sub-provincial cities have 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) in almost all maps.
In total, there are five sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals. These five cities have been designated as the "Municipalities with Independent Planning Status" (simplified Chinese: 计划单列市; traditional Chinese: 計劃單列市; pinyin: Jìhuá Dānliè Shì).
List of the Municipalities with Independent Planning Status
| 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 | 鹭 | Siming |  |
| Guangdong | Shenzhen | 深圳市 | 1988 | 2,050 | 10,358,381 | 10,358,381 | 深 | Futian |  |
| Liaoning | Dalian | 大连市 | 1984 | 13,237 | 8,106,171 | 4,222,409 | 连 | Xigang |  |
| Shandong | Qingdao | 青岛市 | 1986 | 11,026 | 8,715,087 | 4,556,077 | 胶 | Shinan |  |
| Zhejiang | Ningbo | 宁波市 | 1987 | 9,816 | 7,605,689 | 2,823,065 | 甬 | 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 (even before 1997 when Chongqing was a sub-provincial city of Sichuan Province, since Chengdu was also a sub-provincial city).