How many cities are there in China: hot topics and structured data inventory in the past 10 days
Recently, China's urban development, population mobility and related policies have become the focus of heated discussions across the Internet. This article combines hot topics in the past 10 days (as of October 2023), conducts analysis from the number of cities, population distribution, economic data and other dimensions, and presents the core data through structured tables.
1. Official statistics on the number of cities in China

| city type | Quantity (seats) | Data source |
|---|---|---|
| municipality | 4 | Ministry of Civil Affairs 2023 |
| prefecture-level city | 293 | Ministry of Civil Affairs 2023 |
| County-level city | 394 | Ministry of Civil Affairs 2023 |
| total | 691 | Comprehensive statistics |
2. Top 5 hot urban topics in the past 10 days
| Ranking | topic | Associated cities | Hot search index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The policy of “Recognize a house but not a loan” is implemented | Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, etc. | 980 million |
| 2 | Hangzhou Asian Games city image | Hangzhou | 720 million |
| 3 | The follow-up effects of the Chengdu Universiade | Chengdu | 540 million |
| 4 | The phenomenon of population migration from the Northeast | Shenyang, Harbin | 390 million |
| 5 | Top 100 County Economic Rankings Released | Kunshan, Yiwu and other county-level cities | 270 million |
3. Data on new trends in population mobility
| area | Top 3 cities with net population inflow | Growth rate (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Yangtze River Delta | Hangzhou, Suzhou, Hefei | 1.8%-2.3% |
| Pearl River Delta | Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan | 1.5%-2.1% |
| Midwest | Chengdu, Xi'an, Wuhan | 1.2%-1.7% |
4. Comparison of key urban economic indicators
| city | Total GDP (trillion) | Per capita disposable income (yuan) | New first-line ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai | 4.32 | 82,429 | 1 |
| Chongqing | 2.91 | 37,542 | 6 |
| Zhengzhou | 1.36 | 41,682 | 9 |
5. Three major aspects of future urban development
1.Reform of household registration system deepens: Many cities have recently relaxed settlement restrictions, and it is expected that more than 50 cities will achieve "zero threshold" settlement in 2024.
2.The rise of county economy: The total GDP of the top 100 counties has exceeded 10 trillion, and the economic scale of county-level cities such as Kunshan and Jiangyin exceeds that of most provincial capitals.
3.Coordinated development of urban agglomerations: Rail transit interconnection projects in urban agglomerations such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are accelerating.
It can be seen from the above data that China's 691 cities are showing a differentiated development pattern. First-tier cities have strengthened their core functions, new first-tier cities have accelerated their rise, and county economies have become new growth poles. This multi-level urban system will continue to promote high-quality economic development in China.
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