The 10 largest cities in China together have more inhabitants than Germany, Austria and Switzerland as a whole. Some of these giant Chinese cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, are world famous, while most Europeans may not even be known by name. What the top cities in China have in common is that they can guarantee you unforgettable impressions of vibrant communities when you visit them.
- Shanghai (Shanghai)
With around 23 million inhabitants, Shanghai, located in the mouth of the Jangstekiang, about 90 km east of the East China Sea, is the No. 1 of the 10 largest cities in China. Shanghai is not only China’s largest industrial city and the most important container port location in the world, but is also considered the most modern and outwardly western metropolis of the People’s Republic of China. One of the main sights of the city is the famous waterfront “The Bund” with its numerous magnificent buildings from Shanghai as the center of the semi-colonial influence of western powers in China before 1949.
- Beijing
More than 20 million inhabitants live in the Chinese capital Beijing, geographically belonging to the north China lowlands, of which more than 11 million live in the urban area proper. The biggest attraction in China’s center of power is the former palace complex of the Chinese emperors: the “Forbidden City”.
- Guangzhou (Canton)
The 11-million-inhabitant capital of the southern Chinese province of Guangdong (Kwangtung) Guangzhou, like Hong Kong, is one of the largest cities in the Pearl River Delta that flows into the South China Sea. Guangzhou, known as “China’s factory”, is an important industrial and commercial location and is known for its cuisine.
- Shenzhen
The 11 million-strong city of Shenzhen, located in the neighborhood of Hong Kong in the Pearl River Delta, had less than 40,000 inhabitants at the end of the 1970s. The breathtaking population growth of Boomtown Shenzhen, now the Chinese center of the electronics industry, is the result of a gigantic drawing board city concept in a special economic zone.
- Hong Kong
The former British Crown Colony and now the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (7,000,000 inhabitants) has a special political status that gives Hong Kong citizens more political rights than usual in the rest of the People’s Republic.
- Chongqing (Chungking)
If one were to take the official administrative limits and population figures into account, Chongqing in the central Chinese region of Sichuan (Sezuan) would be the largest city in the world with almost 30 million inhabitants and an area of 82,000 square kilometers (for comparison: Austria is 85,000 square kilometers). Around seven million people live in the urban metropolitan area.
- Nanjing (Nanking)
With almost six million inhabitants in the urban area, the provincial capital of Jiangsu (Kiangsu) is the second largest city in eastern China.
- Dongguan
Six million inhabitants live in the actual urban area of Dongguan, which, like Guangszhou and Shenzhen, is one of the giant cities in the Pearl River Delta.
- Wuhan
The city of 5 million is the economic center of central China and is known for its crane pagoda dating from 223.
The currently severe lung disease from China is causing a sensation. The 2019/2020 coronavirus epidemic that started in the Chinese city of Wuhan (Wikipedia report) is attributed to a previously unknown coronavirus. The city of Wuhan with eleven million inhabitants is, so to speak, the starting point for the epidemic. The Wuhan region is unfortunately particularly badly affected by the effects of the coronavirus. Thousands of people are infected. The corona virus rages much worse in hospitals in Wuhan than expected.
A month ago, Wuhan was largely sealed off by the authorities to curb further spread.
- Chengdu (Cheng-tu)
The Sichuan city of Chengdu has almost five million inhabitants in the urban area. The prospering business location has surprisingly much greenery and is considered the “panda capital” of China.