--- title: "Explainer: China's Sales Regions and City Tier Classification" description: "Dividing sales channels by administrative region is a common corporate practice. This article explains China's administrative divisions, the seven major regions, and the common four-, six-, and eight-region sales splits, as well as the classification of cities into tiers (special, first, second, third, fourth, and township) based on population, income, and economic strength." author: "New Distribution" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2014-06-11" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/explainer-china-s-sales-regions-and-city-tier-classification-e0a1d637/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/explainer-china-s-sales-regions-and-city-tier-classification-e0a1d637.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/EonmJO0uGB-wkDdir72tng" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E7%A7%91%E6%99%AE-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E9%94%80%E5%94%AE%E5%A4%A7%E5%8C%BA%E5%8F%8A%E5%9F%8E%E5%B8%82%E7%BA%A7%E5%88%AB%E7%9A%84%E5%88%92%E5%88%86-e0a1d637.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/explainer-china-s-sales-regions-and-city-tier-classification-e0a1d637/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # Explainer: China's Sales Regions and City Tier Classification > Dividing sales channels by administrative region is a common corporate practice. This article explains China's administrative divisions, the seven major regions, and the common four-, six-, and eight-region sales splits, as well as the classification of cities into tiers (special, first, second, third, fourth, and township) based on population, income, and economic strength. **Friendly reminder: Click the blue text above “FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting” to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management.** Dividing sales channels by administrative region is a common corporate practice. The chart below shows the administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China as of December 31, 2012. These administrative divisions undergo minor adjustments each year. As shown in Figures 6-7, which present the administrative division statistics for 2010–2012, the numbers of prefecture-level cities, county-level districts, municipal districts, county-level cities, and counties change almost every year. Additionally, the Ministry of Civil Affairs' Division of Administrative Regions also divides the country into seven major regions (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan): - North China: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia - Northeast: Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang - East China: Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong - Central China: Henan, Hubei, Hunan - South China: Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan - Southwest: Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet - Northwest: Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang The above classification is more of an administrative management method. In our actual sales-oriented channel management, the regional division differs somewhat. The common divisions are into four, six, or eight regions (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), as detailed in Figure 6-8. Of course, different industries, companies, and business stages may have slightly different divisions. The principle behind these three sales region divisions is a balance between regional sales volume and administrative management. We generally do not classify provinces by tier, but we do classify cities by tier. The classification criteria typically reference the city's population, per capita annual income, economic strength, total retail sales of social consumer goods, and other factors. - **Special-tier cities**: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen (these are the traditional four special-tier cities; however, with Chengdu's rise 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 - **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, Yixing, Kunshan, Huzhou, Lishui, Xiaoshan, Ruian, 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, 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 Currently, competition in China's high-tier cities is very intense. Everyone is shifting focus downward, and in the future, second- and third-tier cities will be the main battleground for competition. Text: Reprinted from "Data-Driven Management" --- **Like this article? Feel free to click the top-right corner to share it to your Moments.** About us: WeChat ID: FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting Management Account intro: 20 years of FMCG distributor operation and management experience, professionally focused on distributor internal management: We understand distributors better than manufacturers, and we understand internal management better than distributors. Senior marketing experts help your business grow. Click the "Read Original" link below to enter our micro-community for interactive communication and questions. **Learning and exchange QQ group: 344257092** --- --- ## Copyright and AI use This article is sourced from New Distribution. 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