list of capitals in China#Province capitals
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{{Administrative levels and divisions of China sidebar}}
{{hatnote|This article is about contemporary capitals. For the historic capitals, see Historical capitals of 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 a province but administered independently in many ways from a province.
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Provincial-level capitals
{{Proviencial-level administrative divisions and capitals of China}}
- Note: The People's Republic of China claims Taiwan as one of its provinces, which it does not control.
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!align="left"|Jurisdiction !align="left"|Capital !align="left"|Chinese !align="left"|Capital since !align="left"|Land area !align="left"|Population !align="left"|Urban area !align="left"|Symbol !align="left"|Seat !align="left" class="unsortable"|Map |
| Anhui
| Hefei | 合肥市 | 1853 | 11,434 | 9,369,881 | 5,118,199 | {{lang|zh|庐}} | Shushan |
| Beijing {{small|(Municipality)}} | Beijing | 北京市 | 1927 | 16,801 | 21,893,095 | 21,893,095 | {{lang|zh|京}} | Tongzhou |
| Chongqing {{small|(Municipality)}} | 重庆市 | 1927 | 82,401 | 32,054,159 | 22,251,500 | {{lang|zh|渝}} | Yuzhong |
| Fujian
| Fuzhou | 福州市 | 1278 | 12,177 | 8,291,268 | 4,094,491 | {{lang|zh|榕}} | Gulou |
| Gansu
| Lanzhou | 兰州市 | 1667 | 13,300 | 4,359,446 | 3,072,100 | {{lang|zh|兰}} |
| Guangdong
| 广州市 | 1369 | 7,434 | 18,676,605 | 16,492,590 | {{lang|zh|穗}} | Yuexiu |
| Guangxi {{small|(Autonomous region)}} | Nanning | 南宁市 | 1912 | 22,189 | 8,741,584 | 5,977,185 | {{lang|zh|邕}} | Qingxiu |
| Guizhou
| Guiyang | 贵阳市 | 1413 | 8,034 | 5,987,018 | 4,506,134 | {{lang|zh|筑}} |
| Hainan
| Haikou | 海口市 | 1988 | 2,237 | 2,046,189 | 2,046,189 | {{lang|zh|海}} | Xiuying |
| Hebei
| 石家庄市 | 1968 | 15,722 | 11,235,086 | 4,717,198 | {{lang|zh|石}} | Chang'an |
| Heilongjiang
| Harbin | 哈尔滨市 | 1949 | 53,100 | 10,009,854 | 7,152,381 | {{lang|zh|哈}} | Songbei |
| Henan
| 郑州市 | 1954 | 7,507 | 12,600,574 | 6,650,532 | {{lang|zh|郑}} |
| Hong Kong {{small|(Special administrative region)}} | 香港特别行政区 | 1997 | 1,104 | 7,481,800 | 7,481,800 | {{lang|zh|港}} |
| Hubei
| Wuhan | 武汉市 | 1927 | 8,494 | 12,326,500 | 12,326,500 | {{lang|zh|汉}} | Jiang'an |
| Hunan
| Changsha | 长沙市 | 1664 | 11,819 | 10,047,914 | 6,242,453 | {{lang|zh|星}} | Yuelu |
| Inner Mongolia {{small|(Autonomous region)}} | Hohhot | 呼和浩特市 | 1952 | 17,224 | 3,446,100 | 2,681,758 | {{lang|zh|呼}} | Xincheng |
| Jiangsu
| Nanjing | 南京市 | 1952 | 6,598 | 9,314,685 | 9,314,685 | {{lang|zh|宁}} | Xuanwu |
| Jiangxi
| Nanchang | 南昌市 | 1277 | 7,372 | 6,255,007 | 3,929,660 | {{lang|zh|洪}} |
| Jilin
| 长春市 | 1954 | 20,532 | 9,066,906 | 5,691,024 | {{lang|zh|春}} | Nanguan |
| Liaoning
| Shenyang | 沈阳市 | 1662 | 12,942 | 9,070,093 | 7,885,142 | {{lang|zh|沈}} | Hunnan |
| Macau {{small|(Special administrative region)}} | Macau | 澳门特别行政区 | 1999 | 29 | 683,100 | 683,100 | {{lang|zh|澳}} |
| Ningxia {{small|(Autonomous region)}} | Yinchuan | 银川市 | 1928 | 4,467 | 2,859,074 | 1,901,793 | {{lang|zh|银}} | Jinfeng |
| Qinghai
| Xining | 西宁市 | 1928 | 7,372 | 2,467,965 | 1,954,795 | {{lang|zh|湟}} |
| Shaanxi
| Xi'an | 西安市 | 1286 | 9,983 | 12,952,907 | 11,904,805 | {{lang|zh|镐}} | Weiyang |
| Shandong
| Jinan | 济南市 | 1377 | 8,177 | 9,202,432 | 8,352,574 | {{lang|zh|济}} | Lixia |
| Shanghai {{small|(Municipality)}} | Shanghai | 上海市 | 1927 | 6,340 | 24,870,895 | 24,870,895 | {{lang|zh|沪}} | Huangpu |
| Shanxi
| Taiyuan | 太原市 | 1369 | 6,959 | 5,305,061 | 4,529,141 | {{lang|zh|并}} |
| Sichuan
| Chengdu | 成都市 | 1286 | 12,132 | 20,937,757 | 15,419,445 | {{lang|zh|蓉}} | Wuhou |
| Tianjin {{small|(Municipality)}} | Tianjin | 天津市 | 1927 | 11,760 | 13,866,009 | 10,932,000 | {{lang|zh|津}} | Hexi |
| Tibet {{small|(Autonomous region)}} | Lhasa | 拉萨市 | 1642 | 29,274 | 867,891 | 648,044 | {{lang|zh|拉}} |
| Xinjiang {{small|(Autonomous region)}} | Ürümqi | 乌鲁木齐市 | 1884 | 14,577 | 3,112,559 | 3,029,372 | {{lang|zh|乌}} | Tianshan |
| Yunnan
| Kunming | 昆明市 | 1275 | 21,473 | 8,460,088 | 5,604,310 | {{lang|zh|昆}} |
| Zhejiang
| Hangzhou | 杭州市 | 1367 | 16,847 | 11,936,010 | 10,711,238 | {{lang|zh|杭}} | Jianggan |
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Sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals
Sub-provincial cities have a 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) on almost all maps.
In total, there are five sub-provincial cities that are not themselves provincial capitals. These five cities have been designated as "Cities with Independent Planning Status" ({{zh|s=计划单列市|p=Jìhuá Dānliè Shì}}).
= List of the Cities with Independent Planning Status =
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!align="left"|Jurisdiction !align="left"|City !align="left"|Chinese !align="left"|Designation !align="left"|Land area (km²) !align="left"|Population (2010) !align="left"|Urban area !align="left"|Symbol !align="left"|Seat !align="left" class="unsortable"|Map |
| Fujian
| Xiamen | 厦门市 | 1988 | 1,699 | 3,531,347 | 3,119,110 | {{lang|zh|鹭}} | Siming |
| Guangdong
| Shenzhen | 深圳市 | 1988 | 2,050 | 10,358,381 | 10,358,381 | {{lang|zh|深}} | Futian |
| Liaoning
| Dalian | 大连市 | 1984 | 13,237 | 8,106,171 | 4,222,409 | {{lang|zh|连}} | Xigang |
| Shandong
| Qingdao | 青岛市 | 1986 | 11,026 | 8,715,087 | 4,556,077 | {{lang|zh|胶}} | Shinan |
| Zhejiang
| Ningbo | 宁波市 | 1987 | 9,816 | 7,605,689 | 2,823,065 | {{lang|zh|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. Before 1997, when Chongqing was a sub-provincial city of Sichuan Province, provincial capital Chengdu was also a sub-provincial city.