---
title: "China's Latest City Classification Guide"
description: "As companies prepare their 2017 annual targets, city classification remains crucial for FMCG and retail firms. This article compiles several classification standards, including JLL's China 60 cities, CBN Weekly's 400-city ranking, the State Council's new city size standards, and data-driven classifications used by major consumer goods companies."
author: "New Distribution"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-10-14"
categories: "Supply Chain & B2B"
language: "en"
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original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7Lch1qYrt8xy-VHmnUS22A"
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citation: "New Distribution. “China's Latest City Classification Guide.” New Distribution, 2016-10-14. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/china-s-latest-city-classification-guide-4fcac546/"
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---

# China's Latest City Classification Guide

> As companies prepare their 2017 annual targets, city classification remains crucial for FMCG and retail firms. This article compiles several classification standards, including JLL's China 60 cities, CBN Weekly's 400-city ranking, the State Council's new city size standards, and data-driven classifications used by major consumer goods companies.

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> Many companies are about to set their 2017 annual goals. City classification has always been the most important content for consumer goods and retail companies, as it involves resource allocation, target management, future development, and other major issues that cannot be taken lightly. Today I have integrated several standards for your reference:
> JLL China 60 Cities

**Super first-tier cities:** Shanghai, Beijing
**First-tier cities:** Guangzhou, Shenzhen
**1.5-tier cities:** Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang, Suzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Xi'an (9 cities)
**Second-tier cities:** Changsha, Dalian, Jinan, Ningbo, Qingdao, Wuxi, Xiamen, Zhengzhou (8 cities)
**Third-tier cities:** Changchun, Changzhou, Harbin, Fuzhou, Kunming, Hefei, Dongguan, Shijiazhuang, Hohhot, Nanchang, Wenzhou, Foshan, Guiyang, Nanning (14 cities)
**Emerging third-tier cities:** Haikou, Huzhou, Tangshan, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Nantong, Xuzhou, Quanzhou, Taiyuan, Yantai, Urumqi, Weifang, Zhuhai, Luoyang, Zhongshan, Lanzhou, Jinhua (17 cities)
**Start-up third-tier cities:** Huai'an, Jilin, Weihai, Zibo, Yinchuan, Yangzhou, Wuhu, Yancheng, Yichang, Xining, Xiangyang, Mianyang (12 cities)

This is a ranking of China's 60 cities (excluding Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen) released by JLL in April, calculated based on economic and real estate indices.

▼
**Economic indices:** Economic scale and growth; population; affluence; infrastructure; exports; foreign direct investment and fixed investment; education; business environment.

## **Real estate indices:** Real estate investment volume; office, retail, and logistics warehouse stock; developer activity; number of companies; number of retailers; and international brand hotels.

> CBN Weekly's China City Classification (400 cities)

CBN's evaluation criteria differ from most, including: density of first-tier brand entry, number of first-tier brands, GDP, per capita income, 211 universities, number of Fortune Global 500 companies, ranking of key strategic cities for large companies, airport throughput, number of consulates, and number of international flight routes—10 indicators in total.

> State Council: Latest City Size Classification Standards

The State Council issued the "Notice on Adjusting the Standards for City Size Classification," which adjusted the original standards and clarified new ones. According to the new standards, cities nationwide are divided into five categories and seven tiers. Cities with a permanent urban population of 10 million or more are classified as megacities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Wuhan—7 cities in total. Chengdu, Nanjing, Hong Kong, and 7 other cities meet the standards for super-large cities.

The new city size classification standards use the permanent urban population as the statistical caliber, dividing cities into five categories and seven tiers:

> Cities with a permanent urban population of less than 500,000 are **small cities**, of which those with 200,000 to 500,000 are **Type I small cities**, and those below 200,000 are **Type II small cities**.
>
> Cities with a permanent urban population of 500,000 to 1 million are **medium cities**.
>
> Cities with a permanent urban population of 1 million to 5 million are **large cities**, of which those with 3 million to 5 million are **Type I large cities**, and those with 1 million to 3 million are **Type II large cities**.
>
> Cities with a permanent urban population of 5 million to 10 million are **super-large cities**.
>
> Cities with a permanent urban population of 10 million or more are **megacities**.

> Data-driven Management Standards

This is a city classification standard I have compiled from major consumer goods companies such as P&G, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson:

**Premium cities:** Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen (these are the traditional four premium cities, but with the rise of Chengdu in the western retail market, some retail companies or brands have replaced Shenzhen with Chengdu)
**First-tier cities:** Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Changsha, Wuhan, Tianjin, Jinan, Qingdao, Dalian, Shenyang, Harbin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an
**Second-tier cities:** Zhuhai, Foshan, Quanzhou, Dongguan, Nanning, Haikou, Sanya, Kunming, Mianyang, Guiyang, Lhasa, Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Baotou, Hohhot, Yantai, Changchun, Anshan, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, Hefei, Urumqi, Lanzhou, Xining, Yinchuan, Wenzhou
**Third-tier cities:** Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, Handan, Baoding, Langfang, Datong, Yangquan, Changzhi, Linfen, Fushun, Benxi, Jinzhou, Jilin, Siping, Qiqihar, Daqing, Jiamusi, Mudanjiang, Changshu, Zhenjiang, Lianyungang, Jiangyin, Xuzhou, Yixing, Kunshan, Huzhou, Lishui, Xiaoshan, Rui'an, Yiwu, Wuhu, Bengbu, Ma'anshan, Anqing, Putian, Zhangzhou, Shishi, Jingdezhen, Jiujiang, Yingtan, Dongying, Weifang, Tai'an, Weihai, Binzhou, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Shiyan, Yichang, Xiangfan, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Hengyang, Shaoyang, Shaoguan, Shantou, Jiangmen, Maoming, Zhongshan, Zhanjiang, Chaozhou, Liuzhou, Guilin, Beihai, Zigong, Panzhihua, Leshan, Yibin, Nanchong, Qujing, Yuxi, Baoshan, Dali, Zunyi, Tongchuan, Baoji, Xianyang, Hanzhong
**Fourth-tier cities:** All cities not listed above
**Township markets:** Townships located in rural areas; there are 40,446 township-level markets nationwide.

> **Note: These standards are for reference only; differences across industries can be significant. Take what you need.**

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---

## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: New Distribution
- Published: 2016-10-14
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/china-s-latest-city-classification-guide-4fcac546/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7Lch1qYrt8xy-VHmnUS22A

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