Beijing

Beijing,[a] previously romanized as Peking,[b] is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents,[11] it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai.[12] It is located in Northern China, and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts.[13] Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster.[14]

Beijing is a global city and one of the world's leading centres for culture, diplomacy, politics, finance, business and economics, education, research, language, tourism, media, sport, science and technology, transportation, and art. It is home to the headquarters of most of China's largest state-owned companies and houses the largest number of Fortune Global 500 companies in the world, as well as the world's four biggest financial institutions by total assets.[15] It is also a major hub for the national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed rail networks. For a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beijing Capital International Airport was Asia's busiest airport (2009–2019) and the second busiest airport in the world (2010–2019).[16] In 2020, the Beijing subway was the fourth busiest and second longest in the world.[17] Beijing Daxing International Airport, Beijing's second international airport, is the largest single-structure airport terminal in the world.[18][19] The city has hosted numerous international and national sporting events, the most notable being the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Paralympics Games. In 2022, Beijing became the first city ever to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics,[20] and also the Summer and Winter Paralympics.[21]

Beijing combines both modern and traditional style architectures, with one side of the city being modernized and renovated to fit the times, and the other half still offering traditional hutong districts.[22] Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world, with a rich history dating back over three millennia. As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, Beijing has been the political center of the country for most of the past eight centuries,[23] and was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium AD.[24] With mountains surrounding the inland city on three sides, in addition to the old inner and outer city walls, Beijing was strategically poised and developed to be the residence of the emperor and thus was the perfect location for the imperial capital. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls and gates.[25] Beijing is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world. In 2018, Beijing was the second highest earning tourist city in the world after Shanghai.[26] Beijing is home to many national monuments and museums and has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites—the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site, Beijing Central Axis and parts of the Great Wall and the Grand Canal—all of which are popular tourist locations.[27] Siheyuans, the city's traditional housing style, and hutongs, the narrow alleys between siheyuans, are major tourist attractions and are common in urban Beijing.

Beijing's public universities make up more than one-fifth of Double First-Class Construction universities, and many of them consistently rank among the best in the Asia-Pacific and the world,[28][29][30] including Tsinghua University, Peking University and UCAS.[31][32][33] Beijing CBD is a center for Beijing's economic expansion, with the ongoing or recently completed construction of multiple skyscrapers. Beijing's Zhongguancun area is a world leading center of scientific and technological innovation as well as entrepreneurship. Beijing has been ranked the city with the largest scientific research output by the Nature Index since the list's inception in 2016.[34][35] Beijing hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of many organizations, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Silk Road Fund, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Central Academy of Drama, the Central Conservatory of Music, and the Red Cross Society of China.

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Shanghai

Shanghai[a] is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. The population of the city proper is the second largest in the world after Chongqing, with around 24.87 million inhabitants in 2023, while the urban area is the most populous in China, with 29.87 million residents. As of 2022, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of nearly 13 trillion RMB ($1.9 trillion).[13] Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, tourism, and culture. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.[14]

Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai grew to global prominence in the 19th century due to both domestic and foreign trade and its favorable port location. The city was one of five treaty ports forced to open to trade with the Europeans after the First Opium War. The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently established. The city then flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of Asia in the 1930s. During the Second World War, the city was the site of the major Battle of Shanghai. After the war, the Communist revolution soon resumed with the Communists taking over the city and most of the mainland. From the 1950s to the 1970s, trade was mostly limited to other socialist countries in the Eastern Bloc, causing the city's global influence to decline during the Cold War.

Major changes of fortune for the city would occur when economic reforms initiated by paramount leader Deng Xiaoping during the 1980s resulted in an intense redevelopment and revitalization of the city by the 1990s, especially the Pudong New Area, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment. The city has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance. It is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange in the Asia-Pacific by market capitalization and the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, the first free-trade zone in mainland China. It is ranked 4th on the Global Financial Centres Index. Shanghai has been classified as an Alpha+ (global first-tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. As of 2024, it is home to 13 companies of the Fortune Global 500—the fourth-highest number of any city.[15] The city is also a major global center for research and development and home to numerous Double First-Class Universities, including Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The Shanghai Metro, first opened in 1993, is the largest metro network in the world by route length.

Shanghai has been described as the "showpiece" of the economy of China and it is one of the ten biggest economic hubs in the world. Featuring several architectural styles such as Art Deco and shikumen, the city is renowned for its Lujiazui skyline, museums and historic buildings, including the City God Temple, Yu Garden, the China Pavilion and buildings along the Bund. The Oriental Pearl Tower can be seen from the Bund. Shanghai is known for its cuisine, local language, and cosmopolitan culture. It ranks sixth in the list of cities with the most skyscrapers.

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Guangzhou

Guangzhou[a] is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China.[8] Located on the Pearl River about 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Hong Kong and 145 km (90 mi) north of Macau, Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the Silk Road.[9]

The port of Guangzhou serves as a transportation hub for China's fourth largest city and surrounding areas, including Hong Kong.[10] Guangzhou was captured by the British during the First Opium War and no longer enjoyed a monopoly after the war; consequently it lost trade to other ports such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, but continued to serve as a major entrepôt. Following the Second Battle of Chuenpi in 1841, the Treaty of Nanking was signed between Sir Robert Peel on behalf of Queen Victoria and Lin Zexu on behalf of Emperor Xuanzong and ceded Hong Kong to the United Kingdom on 26 January 1841 after the agreement of the Convention of Chuenpi.[11]

Guangzhou is at the center of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area, the most populous built-up metropolitan area in the world, which extends into the neighboring cities of Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Shenzhen and part of Jiangmen, Huizhou, Zhuhai and Macau, forming the largest urban agglomeration on Earth with approximately 70 million residents[12] and part of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. Administratively, the city holds subprovincial status[13] and is one of China's nine National Central Cities.[14] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, nationals of sub-Saharan Africa who had initially settled in the Middle East and Southeast Asia moved in unprecedented numbers to Guangzhou in response to the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.[15] The domestic migrant population from other provinces of China in Guangzhou was 40% of the city's total population in 2008. Guangzhou has one of the most expensive real estate markets in China.[16] As of the 2020 census, the registered population of the city's expansive administrative area was 18,676,605 individuals (up 47 percent from the previous census in 2010), of whom 16,492,590 lived in 9 urban districts (all but Conghua and Zengcheng).[2] Due to worldwide travel restrictions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the major airport of Guangzhou, briefly became the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic in 2020.[17] Guangzhou is the fifth most populous city by urban resident population in China after Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Chongqing.[18]

In modern commerce, Guangzhou is best known for its annual Canton Fair, the oldest and largest trade fair in China.[19] For three consecutive years (2013–2015), Forbes ranked Guangzhou as the best commercial city in mainland China.[20] Guangzhou is highly ranked as an Alpha (global first-tier) city together with San Francisco and Stockholm.[21] It is a major Asia-Pacific finance hub, ranking 21st globally in the 2020 Global Financial Centres Index.[22] Guangzhou also has the fifth largest number of skyscrapers in the world. As an important international city, Guangzhou has hosted numerous international and national sporting events, the most notable being the 2010 Asian Games, the 2010 Asian Para Games, and the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The city hosts 65 foreign representatives, making it the major city hosting the third most foreign representatives in China, after Beijing and Shanghai.[23][24] As of 2020, Guangzhou ranked 10th in the world and 5th in China—after Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen—for the number of billionaire residents by the Hurun Global Rich List.[25] Guangzhou is a research and development hub ranking 8th globally as well as 4th in the Asia-Pacific region,[26] and is home to numerous Double First-Class Universities, including Sun Yat-sen University.[27][28][29]

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Shenzhen

Shenzhen[a] is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, and Macau to the southwest. With a population of 17.5 million in 2020, Shenzhen is the third most populous city by urban population in China after Shanghai and Beijing.[8] The Port of Shenzhen is the world's fourth busiest container port.[9]

Shenzhen roughly follows the administrative boundaries of Bao'an County, which was established in imperial times. After the Opium Wars, the southern portion of Bao'an County was occupied by the British and became part of British Hong Kong, while the village of Shenzhen was next to the border. Shenzhen turned into a city in 1979. In the early 1980s, economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in the city becoming the first special economic zone of China due to its close proximity to Hong Kong, attracting foreign direct investment and migrants searching for opportunities. In thirty years, the city's economy and population boomed and has since emerged as a hub for technology, international trade, and finance.

Shenzhen is the home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization and the Guangdong Free-Trade Zone. Shenzhen is ranked as an Alpha- (global first-tier) city by the GaWC. Its nominal GDP has surpassed those of its neighboring cities of Guangzhou and Hong Kong and is now among those of the cities with the ten largest economies in the world. Shenzhen also has the second largest number of skyscrapers, fifth-highest number of billionaires, the seventh-most Fortune Global 500 headquarters, the eighth-most competitive and largest financial center in the world, the 19th largest scientific research output, and several higher education institutions, including Shenzhen University and SUSTech. Shenzhen railway station was the last stop on the mainland Chinese section of the Kowloon–Canton Railway.

The city is a leading global technology hub. In the media Shenzhen is sometimes called China's Silicon Valley.[10][11] The city's entrepreneurial, innovative, and competitive-based culture has resulted in the city being home to numerous small manufacturers and software companies. Several of these firms have become large technology corporations, such as Huawei, Tencent, and DJI. As an important international city, Shenzhen hosts numerous national and international events every year, such as the 2011 Summer Universiade and the China Hi-Tech Fair. Shenzhen hosts BYD Company, and is the largest automobile manufacturing city in China.

A large portion of Shenzhen's population are migrants from all over China, and the city's population structure skews younger than most places in China.

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Chongqing

Chongqing[a] is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the Central People's Government, along with Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. It is the only directly administrated municipality located deep inland.[12] The municipality covers a large geographical area roughly the size of Austria,[13] which includes several disjunct urban areas in addition to Chongqing proper. Due to its classification, the municipality of Chongqing is the largest city proper in the world by population, though Chongqing is not the most populous urban area.

The municipality of Chongqing is the only Chinese city with a resident population of over 30 million;[14] however, this number includes its large rural population.[13] In 2020, Chongqing surpassed Shanghai as China's largest municipality by urban population; as of 2023, it had an urban population of 22.87 million.[14] The municipality contains 26 districts, 8 counties, and 4 autonomous counties. The city served as the wartime capital for the Republic of China (ROC) during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). On 14 March 1997, the current municipality was separated from the surrounding province of Sichuan, with the goal of furthering development in the central and western parts of the country.[15]

Chongqing is one of China's national central cities. It is a connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and a base for the country's Belt and Road Initiative.[16] Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is the second-busiest airport in China, and is one of the top 50 busiest airports in the world.[17][18] The city's monorail system is the world's longest and busiest, as well as having the greatest number of stations, with 70.[19][20] Chongqing is ranked as a Beta (global second-tier) city.[21] It is the headquarters of the Changan Automobile, one of the "Big Four" car manufacturers in China.[22] As of 2023, the city hosts 12 foreign representations, the fifth-most in China behind Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu.[23] It is one of the top 40 cities globally by scientific research output;[24] the municipality is home to several notable universities, including Chongqing University, Southwest University, and Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications.[25][26][27]

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Nanjing

Nanjing[b] is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of 6,600 km2 (2,500 sq mi), and as of 2021 a population of 9,423,400.[6] Situated in the Yangtze River Delta, Nanjing has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having served as the capital of various Chinese dynasties, kingdoms and republican governments dating from the 3rd century to 1949,[7] and has thus long been a major center of culture, education, research, politics, economy, transport networks and tourism, being the home to one of the world's largest inland ports. The city is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure,[8] enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province.[9] It has also been awarded the title of 2008 Habitat Scroll of Honor of China, Special UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award and National Civilized City.[10] Nanjing is also considered a Beta (global second-tier) city classification, together with Chongqing, Hangzhou and Tianjin by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network,[11] and ranked as one of the world's top 100 cities in the Global Financial Centres Index.[12]

As of 2021, Nanjing has 68 institutions of higher learning,[13][14] including 13 double-first-class universities, ten 111-plan universities, eight 211 universities, and 97 academies.[15] Nanjing University, which has a long history, is among the world's top 10 universities ranked by the Nature Index.[16] The ratio of college students to the total population ranks No.1 among large cities nationwide. Nanjing has the fifth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world.[17] As of 2024, it has been ranked as the world's second most prolific scientific research center in earth and environmental sciences and the world's third most prolific scientific research center in chemistry and physical sciences, according to the Nature Index.[18][19][20][21]

Nanjing, one of the nation's most important cities for over a thousand years, is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It has been one of the world's largest cities, enjoying peace and prosperity despite various wars and disasters.[22][23][24][25] Nanjing served as the capital of Eastern Wu (229–280), one of the three major states in the Three Kingdoms period; the Eastern Jin and each of the Southern dynasties (Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang and Chen), which successively ruled southern China from 317 to 589; the Southern Tang (937–75), one of the Ten Kingdoms; the Ming dynasty when, for the first time, all of China was ruled from the city (1368–1421);[26] and the Republic of China under the nationalist Kuomintang (1927–37, 1946–49) before its flight to Taiwan by Chiang Kai-Shek during the Chinese Civil War.[27] The city also served as the seat of the rebel Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1853–64) and the Japanese puppet regime of Wang Jingwei (1940–45) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It suffered many notable devastating atrocities in both conflicts, most notably the Nanjing Massacre from late 1937 to early 1938.[28]

Nanjing became the capital city of Jiangsu province in 1952, after serving as a Direct-administered Municipality from 1949 to 1952 following the establishment of the People's Republic of China. It has many important heritage sites, including the Presidential Palace, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. Nanjing is famous for human historical landscapes, mountains and waters such as Fuzimiao, Ming Palace, Chaotian Palace, Porcelain Tower, Drum Tower, Stone City, City Wall, Qinhuai River, Xuanwu Lake and Purple Mountain. Key cultural facilities include Nanjing Library, Nanjing Museum and Jiangsu Art Museum.

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Xi'an

Xi'an[a] is the capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain,[4] the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populous city in Northwestern China.[5] Its total population was 12.95 million in the 2020 census, including an urban population of 9.28 million.[6]

Xi'an is one of the oldest cities in China.[7] Known as Chang'an throughout much of its history, Xi'an is one of China's Four Great Ancient Capitals, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history,[8] including the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui, Northern Zhou and Tang.[8] Xi'an is now the second-most popular tourist destination in China.[9] The city was one of the terminal points on the Silk Road during the ancient and medieval eras, as well as the home of the 3rd-century BC Terracotta Army commissioned by Emperor Qin Shi Huang—both of which are listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.[10]

Since the 1980s, as part of the economic growth of inland China especially for the central and northwest regions, Xi'an has developed into a cultural, industrial, political and educational, and research and development hub. Xi'an currently holds sub-provincial status, administering 11 districts and 2 counties.[11] In 2020, Xi'an was ranked as a Beta- (global second tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network,[12] and, according to the country's own ranking, ranked 17th;[13] it is also one of the world's top 100 financial centers according to the Global Financial Centres Index.[14] Xi'an is ranked by the Nature Index as one of the top 20 cities globally by scientific research output,[15] and is home to multiple prestigious educational institutions, such as Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xidian University and Northwest University.[16][17]