Chinese Cities

Beijing

Beijing, located in northern China is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. It is one of four municipalities of the PRC equivalent to a province in China’s administrative structure. Beijing is China’s second largest city in terms of population, after Shanghai. The population of the Beijing metropolitan area is just over 13 million.

It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, road and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognized as the political, educational and cultural center of the PRC. Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games.

The Beijing central business district is home to a variety of corporate regional headquarters, shopping malls and high-end housing. It is a financial center and major industries include electronics, computers and pharmaceuticals. Agriculture is carried out outside the urban area with wheat and corn being the major crops. Vegetables are also grown in the regions closer to the urban area in order to supply the city.

The rapid expansion of the city has resulted in a need to control pollution, provide for quality water supply and maintain cost effective supplies of electricity and natural gas.

Shanghai

Situated on the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai is China’s largest city by population. The municipal area is home to 17.4 million people. Shanghai is the center of China’s modern economy and serves as one of the most important cultural, commercial, financial, industrial and communications centers in China. Shanghai is a municipality of the PRC that has province-level status.

Shanghai is regarded as the center of finance and trade in mainland China. Shanghai is one of the world’s busiest ports. In 2005 it ranked first of the world’s busiest ports in terms of cargo throughput, handling 443 million tons. In terms of container traffic, it was third following Singapore and Hong Kong.

Tianjin

Tianjin is located in northeast China along the Hai He river. It is a municipality with province-level status and comes directly under the control of the central government. It is the third-largest city in mainland China with a population of 10.2 million.

Manufacturing is the largest and fastest growing of the Tianjin economy. Agriculture surrounding the city produces wheat, rice and corn. Fishing is an important industry along the coastline. Major businesses include petrochemicals, textiles, automobiles, metalworking and mechanical industries.

The Tianjin area is rich in natural resources such as petroleum, salt, manganese and boron. Geothermal energy is also a resource of the area.

The city has access to shipping ports some distance away located on Bohai Gulf of the Pacific Ocean.

Chongqing

Chongqing situated in the central part of China is also a province-level municipality. The population of the urban area is 12.1 million, but there is a registered population of 31.4 million mostly living outside the urban area of Chongqing proper, over hundreds of square kilometers of farmland.

Located on the Jialing river, Chongqing has been a major inland trading port, transporting goods from the southwestern provinces to eastern China. Chongqing is rich in natural resources with more than 40 kinds of minerals. It has large coal and natural gas reserves. Important industries include mining and production of iron, steel and aluminum. It is a center for production of military equipment, automobiles, motorcycles, chemicals, textiles, machinery, electronics and building materials. It is home to Asia’s largest aluminum plant.

Agriculture is very important to the area with production of rice and fruit, especially oranges. The central government has recently embarked on an economic policy that is aimed to develop western China. As part of this new plan, the central government is heavily investing in Chongqing’s infrastructure and has made a plan for Chongqing to become the “Gateway to the West”. Located at the head of the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is planned to be the beachhead for the development of the western part of the country.

Changsha

Changsha is the capital of Hunan, a province in South-central China. It is located on the lower reaches of the Xiangjiang river, a branch of the Yangtze River. It has a population of just over 3 million. Changsha has become an important creative center for TV and entertainment arts with its many TV stations producing some of the most popular programs in China.

Dalian

Dalian is the governing city in the northeastern Liaoning Province. It is China’s northernmost ice-free seaport. It has a population of 5.5 million. Dalian is emerging as a very important part of international trade. It has a harbor for oil tankers built at the terminus of an oil pipeline from the Daqing oilfields. It is the largest petroleum port in China and the third largest port overall. Dalian is a major center for oil refineries, diesel engineering and chemical production.

Dalian has been given many benefits by the Chinese government, including the title of “open city” which allows it to receive considerable foreign investment.

Zibo

Zibo is in central Shandong province. It has a population of 4.1 million.

The "Silk Road", prosperous through the Han and Tang Dynasties, is the famous passageway in China's history for economic and cultural exchange between East and West. As a result of textual research, Shandong area, with Zibo as its center, was the major place of silk supply at that time, and was one of the origins of the "Silk Road", Today, Zibo, as producer of silk and light textile products, remains an important place in the whole country and enjoys tremendous reputation on the market both at home and abroad.

Xi’an

Xi’an is the capital of Shaanxi province. It is known as one of the most important cities in Chinese history. It is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China because it has been the capital of 13 dynasties, including Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang.

Xi’an is the largest and most developed city in the central to northwestern part of China and ranks among the 10 largest cities with a population of 3.2 million.

Xi’an is an industrialized city with many industries. It is also one of the academic centers in China. The number of institutions is the third only after Beijing and Shanghai.

Guangzhou

Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province in southern China. The city was formerly known internationally as Canton. It is a port on the Pearl River navigable to the South China Sea. It has a population of 9.9 million making it the populous city in the province and the fifth most populous in China.

Guangzhou is the economic center of the Pearl River Delta placing it in the heart of one of mainland China’s leading commercial and manufacturing regions. Guangzhou is connected to Hong Kong, 183 km away, by train, bus and ferry service.

Qingdao

Qingdao is a city in eastern Shandong province. It is a major seaport, naval base and industrial center. It is the site of the Tsingtao Brewery that produces beer. It has a population of 7.3 million.

As an important trading port, Qingdao flourishes with foreign investment and international trade. It has a zigzagging pattern coastline and possesses and invaluable stock of fish, shrimp and other sea resources. It has a variety of mineral deposits. It also has wind power electricity generation that performs very well.