A List of Maps and Basic Information About China's Mainland Provinces

By Sara Naumann

Updated 09/01/17

China is the world's third largest country, after Russia and Canada. Its political geography is complicated. Encompassing 5 different administrative zones, China has 22 Provinces, 5 Autonomous Regions, 4 Municipalities, 2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR) and 1 Claimed Province.

The following is a list of the provinces in Mainland China in alphabetical order. Click through for more information on each region. Taiwan, the twenty-third and claimed province, is listed separately.

  • 01 of 22

    Anhui Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
    ••• Anhui Province.


    Capital city: Hefei
    Provincial population: 64.6 million
    Famous for:

  • 02 of 22

    Fujian Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Fuzhou
    Provincial population: 35.1 million
    Famous for:

  • 03 of 22

    Gansu Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Lanzhou
    Provincial population: 29.2 million
    Famous for:

  • 04 of 22

    Guangdong Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Guangzhou
    Provincial population: 113 million
    Famous for: factories and industry; its capital, Guangzhou (formerly "Canton").

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  • 05 of 22

    Guizhou Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Guiyang
    Provincial population: 39 million
    Famous for: large populations of minority peoples such as the Miao, Dong and Buyi.

  • 06 of 22

    Hainan Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Haikou
    Provincial population: 7.2 million
    Famous for: beaches at Yalong Bay

  • 07 of 22

    Hebei Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Shijiazhuang
    Provincial population: 68 million
    Famous for: Chengde's Qing Dynasty summer palace (UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site), Great Wall Shanhaiguan Pass, the easternmost end of the Ming-era Great Wall.

  • 08 of 22

    Heilongjiang Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Harbin
    Provincial population: 38.2 million
    Famous for: historically being part of Manchuria; Harbin's annual Ice & Snow Festival

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  • 09 of 22

    Henan Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Zhengzhou
    Provincial population: 98.7 million
    Famous for:

  • 10 of 22

    Hunan Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Changsha
    Provincial population: 67 million
    Famous for: delicious spicy food, Mao Zedong's birth village of Shaoshan Chong, Wulingyuan scenic area.

  • 11 of 22

    Hubei Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Wuhan
    Provincial population: 60.2 million
    Famous for: the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River

  • 12 of 22

    Jiangsu Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Nanjing
    Provincial population: 75.5 million
    Famous for:

    • Nanjing - ancient capital of China and site of major Japanese atrocities during WWII
    • Suzhou - UNESCO World Heritage Site full of gardens and temples
    • Yixing where China's most famous clay teapots are made
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  • 13 of 22

    Jiangxi Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Nanchang
    Provincial population: 42.8 million
    Famous for: Jingdezhen - the home of Chinese porcelain; Lushan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  • 14 of 22

    Jilin Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Changchun
    Provincial population: 42.2 million
    Famous for: being historically part of Manchuria; the scenery at Heaven Lake on the North Korean border.

  • 15 of 22

    Liaoning Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Shenyang
    Provincial population: 27.1 million
    Famous for: being historically part of Manchuria; Manchu cultural and historical sites (the Qing Dynasty was established by the Manchus in Liaoning who then moved their capital to the Forbidden City in Beijing); Dalian, a beautiful port city with beaches and foreign architecture.

  • 16 of 22

    Qinghai Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Xining
    Provincial population: 5.4 million
    Famous for:

    • the Qinghai-Tibet Railway
    • Qinghai Lake, China's largest saltwater lake and scenic area
    • Tibetan autonomous area outside Xining around Kumbum Monastery
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  • 17 of 22

    Shaanxi Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Xi'an
    Provincial population: 37 million
    Famous for:

  • 18 of 22

    Shandong Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Jinan
    Provincial population: 91.8 million
    Famous for:

  • 19 of 22

    Shanxi Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Taiyuan
    Provincial population: 33.4 million
    Famous for:

    • Pinqyao, a Ming-era walled city
    • Wutaishan, one of China's 4 holy Buddhist mountains
    • Datong Buddhist grottoes
  • 20 of 22

    Sichuan Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Chengdu
    Provincial population: 87.3 million
    Famous for:

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  • 21 of 22

    Yunnan Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Kunming
    Provincial population: 44.2 million
    Famous for:

    • a large population of minority groups
    • Lijiang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its Naxi minority culture
    • Shangri-La, an ethnic Tibetan community in the high mountains
    • Xishuangbanna, a trekking area famed for beautiful scenery
  • 22 of 22

    Zhejiang Province

    Map file courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.


    Capital city: Hangzhou
    Provincial population: 47.2 million
    Famous for:

    • Longjing tea, the most famous of Chinese green teas
    • Putuoshan, one of China's 4 holy Buddhist mountains
    • Hangzhou's West Lake
    • Moganshan Scenic Area