Asia China China Guide Things To Do Essentials Itineraries All China Maps of China's Mainland Provinces By Sara Naumann Sara Naumann LinkedIn Twitter Sarah Naumann is a long-term Shanghai resident and expert on travel to China. She currently writes for Air France's Flying Blue China Club. TripSavvy's editorial guidelines Updated on 06/26/19 Share Pin Email 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. Taiwan, the twenty-third and claimed province, is listed separately. 01 of 22 Anhui Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: HefeiProvincial population: 64.6 millionFamous for: Yellow Mountains (Huang Shan) UNESCO villages and Huizhou Architecture Jiuhuashan, one of China's 4 Holy Buddhist mountains. 02 of 22 Fujian Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: FuzhouProvincial population: 35.1 millionFamous for: Xiamen (formerly "Amoy"), Gulangyu Wuyishan Scenic Area Wulong Tea Hakka architecture 03 of 22 Gansu Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: LanzhouProvincial population: 29.2 millionFamous for: Gansu Provincial Museum in LanzhouMing-era Great Wall Jiayuguan PassDunhuang City for Silk Road history and Mogao GrottoesHexi Corridor portion of the Silk RoadTibetan Autonomous Area encompassing Labrang Monastery 04 of 22 Guangdong Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: GuangzhouProvincial population: 113 millionFamous for: factories and industry; its capital, Guangzhou (formerly "Canton"). Continue to 5 of 22 below. 05 of 22 Guizhou Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: GuiyangProvincial population: 39 millionFamous for: large populations of minority peoples such as the Miao, Dong, and Buyi. 06 of 22 Hainan Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: HaikouProvincial population: 7.2 millionFamous for: beaches at Yalong Bay 07 of 22 Hebei Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: ShijiazhuangProvincial population: 68 millionFamous 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 Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: HarbinProvincial population: 38.2 millionFamous for: historically being part of Manchuria; Harbin's annual Ice & Snow Festival Continue to 9 of 22 below. 09 of 22 Henan Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: ZhengzhouProvincial population: 98.7 millionFamous for: The Yellow River area - the cradle of Chinese Civilization Shaolin Temple The Longmen Grottoes 10 of 22 Hunan Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: ChangshaProvincial population: 67 millionFamous for: Delicious spicy foodMao Zedong's birth village of Shaoshan ChongWulingyuan scenic area 11 of 22 Hubei Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: WuhanProvincial population: 60.2 millionFamous for: The Three Gorges on the Yangtze River 12 of 22 Jiangsu Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: NanjingProvincial population: 75.5 millionFamous for: Nanjing - the ancient capital of China and the 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 Continue to 13 of 22 below. 13 of 22 Jiangxi Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: NanchangProvincial population: 42.8 millionFamous for: Jingdezhen - the home of Chinese porcelainLushan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 14 of 22 Jilin Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: ChangchunProvincial population: 42.2 millionFamous for: Being historically part of ManchuriaThe scenery at Heaven Lake on the North Korean border 15 of 22 Liaoning Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: ShenyangProvincial population: 27.1 millionFamous for: Being historically part of ManchuriaManchu 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 Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: XiningProvincial population: 5.4 millionFamous for: The Qinghai-Tibet RailwayQinghai Lake, China's largest saltwater lake, and scenic areaTibetan autonomous area outside Xining around Kumbum Monastery Continue to 17 of 22 below. 17 of 22 Shaanxi Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: Xi'anProvincial population: 37 millionFamous for: Terracotta Warriors Museum Xi'an's Muslim quarter and ancient city wall 18 of 22 Shandong Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: JinanProvincial population: 91.8 millionFamous for: Qingdao's famous International Beer FestivalQufu - home of Confucius (the Kong family) 19 of 22 Shanxi Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: TaiyuanProvincial population: 33.4 millionFamous for: Pingyao, a Ming-era walled cityWutaishan, one of China's 4 holy Buddhist mountainsDatong Buddhist grottoes 20 of 22 Sichuan Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: ChengduProvincial population: 87.3 millionFamous for: Chengdu's many attractions Qingcheng Mountain Spicy Sichuan (or Szechuan) cuisine Giant Pandas Emeishan, one of China's 4 holy Buddhist mountains Continue to 21 of 22 below. 21 of 22 Yunnan Province Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: KunmingProvincial population: 44.2 millionFamous 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 Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Capital city: HangzhouProvincial population: 47.2 millionFamous for: Longjing tea, the most famous of Chinese green teasPutuoshan, one of China's 4 holy Buddhist mountainsHangzhou's West LakeMoganshan Scenic Area Was this page helpful? 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