China City Population Rankings: Top 50 Largest Cities by Resident Population (2024)

Published April 20, 2025 · Data source: National Bureau of Statistics, 2024 year-end resident population reports

China is home to some of the world's most populous cities. As of 2024, the country boasts 18 megacities with over 10 million residents each. This comprehensive ranking covers the 50 largest Chinese cities by permanent resident population (常住人口), based on official statistical yearbooks and government bulletins released through early 2025.

Quick Summary

• Total population of top 50 cities: approximately 484.3 million
• Megacities (10M+): 18 cities
• Largest city: Chongqing (31.90M) — comparable to many countries
• Fastest-growing tier: Hefei, Wenzhou, Ningbo, all crossed 9.5M
• Most represented province: Guangdong (8 cities), Zhejiang (7 cities)

The 18 Megacities (10M+ Residents)

China's 18 megacities together house roughly 260 million people — about 18% of the country's total population. These cities drive China's economy, innovation, and cultural influence.

Complete Top 50 Ranking

The following table ranks all 50 largest Chinese cities by their 2024 year-end resident population. Click any city name to explore its full administrative division hierarchy on our database.

Regional Analysis

Province Distribution

Among the top 50 most populous cities, some provinces are far more represented than others:

• Guangdong: 7 cities
• Zhejiang: 4 cities
• Jiangsu: 3 cities
• Shandong: 3 cities
• Fujian: 3 cities
• Henan: 2 cities
• Hebei: 2 cities
• Liaoning: 2 cities
• Chongqing: 1 cities
• Shanghai: 1 cities
• Beijing: 1 cities
• Sichuan: 1 cities
• Hubei: 1 cities
• Tianjin: 1 cities
• Shaanxi: 1 cities
• Hunan: 1 cities
• Anhui: 1 cities
• Heilongjiang: 1 cities
• Jilin: 1 cities
• Guangxi: 1 cities
• Yunnan: 1 cities
• Jiangxi: 1 cities
• Guizhou: 1 cities
• Shanxi: 1 cities
• Gansu: 1 cities
• Xinjiang: 1 cities
• Inner Mongolia: 1 cities
• Hainan: 1 cities
• Qinghai: 1 cities
• Ningxia: 1 cities
• Tibet: 1 cities

Coastal vs. Inland

The eastern coastal provinces dominate the rankings. Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Fujian together account for over half of the top 50 cities. However, inland megacities like Chengdu, Wuhan, and Zhengzhou have grown rapidly through industrialization and provincial capital consolidation.

Key Trends in 2024

• Hefei joins the 10M club: With 10,002,000 residents, Hefei became the newest Chinese megacity in 2024, thanks to strong growth in semiconductor, EV battery, and AI industries.
• Wenzhou leads the 9M+ tier: At 9,852,000, Wenzhou is the closest to joining the megacities, adding 91,000 residents in 2024 alone.
• Northeast cities stabilize: Shenyang and Changchun saw their populations stabilize after years of decline, buoyed by new industrial policies.
• Pearl River Delta remains magnetic: Despite economic headwinds, Guangdong cities (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Zhuhai) collectively attracted hundreds of thousands of new residents.

Understanding China's City Population Data

What is "Resident Population" (常住人口)?

Resident population counts all people who have lived in a city for 6 months or more, including migrant workers from other provinces. This is different from the registered population (户籍人口), which only counts people with local household registration (hukou). In practice, many cities like Shenzhen and Dongguan have far more residents than registered locals.

City Boundaries Matter

Chinese city populations refer to the entire administrative area under a city's jurisdiction, which may include both urban districts and rural counties. Chongqing, for example, administers an area of 82,400 km² (larger than many countries) with 26 districts, 8 counties, and 4 autonomous counties. This is why Chongqing's population (31.9M) far exceeds cities with denser urban cores.

Urban District Population vs. City-Wide Population

For a more accurate picture of urban density, researchers sometimes use the population of urban districts only (市辖区人口). By this metric, Shanghai leads with over 22 million urban residents, while Chongqing drops significantly since large parts of its territory is rural.

Historical Context

China's urban population has grown dramatically over the past four decades. In 1980, only Shanghai exceeded 10 million. By 2000, there were 4 megacities. The 2010 census showed 13, and by 2024 that number has reached 18.

According to research by the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, China is expected to have approximately 28 super-large and mega cities by 2035, collectively absorbing an additional 38-40 million new urban residents.

Data Sources & Methodology

Population figures are based on 2024 year-end resident population data published by each city's statistical bureau in their annual Statistical Communiqués, typically released in March–April 2025. The national total population of China is approximately 1.408 billion (2024).

For detailed administrative division data for every city, county, and township in China, visit our complete database of China's 665,000+ administrative divisions.