Every 1M+ Chinese City #9
First published: Tuesday March 11th, 2025
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Since I made the blog series two years ago, the number of Chinese cities with over a million population in the citypopulation.de major agglomeration list increases from 132 to 141. Ten cities were added to the list, while Cangnan is now considered part of Wenzhou. So I guess it is now time to make a new blog on these. Note that these 10 cities are all barely over a million in population, which are considered small and are lesser known "towns" in Chinese standard.
Langfang
Name
Simplified Chinese: 廊坊
Traditional Chinese: 廊坊
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: láng fāng
Cantonese jyutping: long4 fong1
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,080,000
census 2020 (metro): 1,147,591
Langfang is situated midway between Beijing and Tianjin and contains an exclave of the Hebei province. As the two megalopolises sprawl, Langfang becomes the urban fringe, e.g. part of the new Beijing Daxing Airport lies within the boundary of Langfang.
Cangzhou
Name
Simplified Chinese: 沧州
Traditional Chinese: 滄州
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: cāng zhōu
Cantonese jyutping: cong1 zau1
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,030,000
census 2020 (metro): 810,785
Cangzhou is also in Hebei province and south of Langfang and Tianjin. Known as the Lion City, there is an iron lion sculpture from the 10th century. The city is renowned for its Chinese circus and calligraphy art.
Hengshui
Name
Simplified Chinese: 衡水
Traditional Chinese: 衡水
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: héng shuĭ
Cantonese jyutping: hang4 seoi2
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,070,000
census 2020 (metro): 1,137,942
Hengshui is in Hebei province southwest of Cangzhou, and is at the crossroad of major railways and highways. One fascinating art form from Hengshui is called the "inside painting", a delicate painting drawn on the inside of small snuff bottles.
Linfen
Name
Simplified Chinese: 临汾
Traditional Chinese: 臨汾
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: lín fén
Cantonese jyutping: lam4 fan4
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,010,000
census 2020 (metro): 959,198
Linfen is in Shanxi province. It is a centre for coal mining and was once named one of the most polluted cities in China and the world, but apparently the situation has since improved.
Tengzhou
Name
Simplified Chinese: 滕州
Traditional Chinese: 滕州
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: téng zhōu
Cantonese jyutping: tang4 zau1
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,010,000
census 2020 (metro): 1,895,865
Suzhou
Name
Simplified Chinese: 宿州
Traditional Chinese: 宿州
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: sù zhōu
Cantonese jyutping: suk1 zau1
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,010,000
census 2020 (metro): 1,766,285
Suzhou (not to be confused with the much bigger and more famous Suzhou near Shanghai) is in Anhui province just south of Huaibei. The prefectural city is mostly rural. Nobel laureate Pearl Buck once lived here and described it in her book The Good Earth.
Chuzhou
Name
Simplified Chinese: 滁州
Traditional Chinese: 滁州
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: chú zhōu
Cantonese jyutping: ceoi4 zau1
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,070,000
census 2020 (metro): 782,671
Chuzhou is in the eastern Anhui province near Nanjing, and has historically served as the gateway to the ancient capital across the Yangtze River. The Old Toper's Pavilion (made famous by the essay An Account of the Old Toper's Pavilion), and the Langya Temple (an important Buddhist temple) are located in the nearby Langya Mountain.
Liuyang
Name
Simplified Chinese: 浏阳
Traditional Chinese: 瀏陽
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: liú yáng
Cantonese jyutping: lau4 joeng4
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,040,000
census 2020 (metro): 1,429,384
Liupanshui
Name
Simplified Chinese: 六盘水
Traditional Chinese: 六盤水
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: liù pán shuĭ
Cantonese jyutping: luk6 pun4 seoi2
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,030,000
census 2020 (metro): 1,420,656
Liupanshui is in western Guizhou province. Its name originated from the three constituent counties (Liuzhi, Panzhou, Shuicheng). It is known as the "Cool Capital" due to its temperate climate. It is a major coal and coal seam gas production base in southern China.
Guigang
Name
Simplified Chinese: 贵港
Traditional Chinese: 貴港
Pronunciation
Mandarin pinyin: guì găng
Cantonese jyutping: gwai3 gong2
Population
citypopulation.de: 1,050,000
census 2020 (metro): 1,700,978
Guigang is in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and is a relatively poor city in southern China. Jintian town, located within its administrative boundary, was famous for the Jintian Uprising in 1851, which marked the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion, the bloodiest civil war ever in human history.
Don't worry if you have never heard of any of these cities. Most Chinese people would not know these either unless they are locals. I would personally put all of them in the "Don't Bother" category. But if you want to challenge yourself and ace the city quizzes in JetPunk, it is now time to learn and memorise them. Good luck!