42:
25:
59:
75:
940:, argues that the so-called “second-tier” cities should actually be called “first-class opportunities,” given that these cities have been growth engines of the Chinese economy, boosted by huge amounts of investment, new infrastructure and an influx of new talent. Kuhn says that "roughly 170 Chinese cities have more than one million residents, but only five –
106:(PRC). There are no such official lists in the country, as the Chinese government does not publish or recognize any official definition or a list of cities included in the tier system. However, it is frequently referred to by various international media publications for purposes including commerce, transportation, tourism and education, among others.
204:
on cities compiled by research institutions. The new ranking assessed the commercial attractiveness of 338 cities drawing from data on five dimensions: (1) concentration of commercial resources, (2) the extent to which a city serves as a commercial hub, (3) vitality of urban residents, (4) diversity
142:
Many economists, consultants and businesses classify cities in China based on the tier system. Businesses frequently refer to the tier system in, for example, devising marketing strategy, as it is understood that treating China as one market is simply not feasible: consumers from different regions
109:
Given the rapid development of
Chinese cities ever since the economic reform and the ever-changing dynamics among the country's cities, the tier system has gained wide popularity in recent years as a point of reference, such as among investors and tourists. Cities in different tiers often reflect
171:(colloquially known as “Bei-Shang-Guang-Shen”, 北上广深). First-tier cities represent the most developed areas of the country with the most affluent and sophisticated consumers. They are large, densely populated urban metropolises that have huge economic, cultural and political influence in China.
807:潍坊市、保定市、镇江市、扬州市、桂林市、唐山市、三亚市、湖州市、呼和浩特市、廊坊市、洛阳市、威海市、盐城市、临沂市、江门市、汕头市、泰州市、漳州市、邯郸市、济宁市、芜湖市、淄博市、银川市、柳州市、绵阳市、湛江市、鞍山市、赣州市、大庆市、宜昌市、包头市、咸阳市、秦皇岛市、株洲市、莆田市、吉林市、淮安市、肇庆市、宁德市、衡阳市、南平市、连云港市、丹东市、丽江市、揭阳市、延边朝鲜族自治州、舟山市、兰州市、龙岩市、沧州市、抚顺市、襄阳市、上饶市、营口市、三明市、蚌埠市、丽水市、岳阳市、清远市、荆州市、泰安市、衢州市、盘锦市、东营市、南阳市、马鞍山市、南充市、西宁市、孝感市、齐齐哈尔市
208:
It is important to note that a "city" in China may refer to an administrative unit at different levels. In short, while there are 334 prefectural-level units in China, there are 2,851 units at the county level, and 39,864 units at the township level. This list includes only units at the
146:
Given the sheer number of cities in China, there is not a single version of this classification. According to many media publications, it is understood that there are four tiers, and the consensus is that four cities belong to Tier-1
143:
and cities have vastly different income levels, behaviors, and trends. Cities in different tiers also differ greatly in population size, infrastructure, and the level of sophistication in products and services.
110:
differences in consumer behavior, income level, population size, consumer sophistication, infrastructure, talent pool, and business opportunity, among others. The tier system typically includes cities in
960:– are considered “first-tier” in terms of size and per capita Gross Domestic Product. Some of these metropolises have populations that exceed that of many countries and are world-class in every way."
205:
of lifestyle, (5) future dynamism. The list below shows Yicai Global's 2017 classification, which contains 338 cities ranked on 6 tiers: tier 1, new tier 1, tier 2, tier 3, tier 4, and tier 5.
976:
Dark Green = Tier 1, Light Green = New Tier 1, Yellow = Tier 2, Orange = Tier 3, Light Grey = Tier 4, White = Tier 5, Dark Grey = Not included in the Tier System (ROC, Hong Kong, Macau)
237:, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Tianjin are also considered cities even though they are officially provincial-level administrative units. It is for these reasons that
837:
on four tiers. This list uses a variety of parameters as the basis of classification: population size, GDP, and administrative hierarchy. According to the
222:
1144:
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1046:
1333:
234:
115:
1318:
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998:
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512:厦门市、福州市、无锡市、合肥市、昆明市、哈尔滨市、济南市、佛山市、长春市、温州市、石家庄市、南宁市、常州市、泉州市、南昌市、贵阳市、太原市、烟台市、嘉兴市、南通市、金华市、珠海市、惠州市、徐州市、海口市、乌鲁木齐市、绍兴市、中山市、台州市、九江市
200:
level based on the latest business data from 160 commercial brands, customer behavior data from 17 internet companies and
241:'s published list includes 338 "cities": namely all of the 334 prefectural-level units plus the 4 direct municipalities.
131:
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Some argue that the tier system limits opportunities for cities that are not ranked among higher tiers.
1338:
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1145:"Netizens say one of the Chinese cities just upgraded to 'first-tier' doesn't deserve the label"
1292:"China's "Second-Tier" Cities Take Off — Doing Business in China — Presented by Cathay Pacific"
1056:
1094:
210:
197:
1022:
933:
8:
1119:
880:, the list below includes city names written in Chinese characters to help differentiate)
260:, the list below includes city names written in Chinese characters to help differentiate)
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58:
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111:
74:
1327:
999:"Why Succeeding in China's Lower-tier Cities Is So Important - Jing Travel"
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876:(Notes: because many cities in China have names that appear identical in
865:
Top Tier of
Prefectural-level Chinese Cities by South China Morning Post
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256:(Notes: because many cities in China have names that appear identical in
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Top 3 Tiers of
Prefectural-level Chinese Cities by Yicai Global 2017
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1095:"Hermès to Debut Store in Chinese Second-Tier City | Jing Daily"
1047:"China Focus: China's second-tier cities battle for top talent"
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A map of
Chinese cities by tier, according to Yicai Global 2017
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in China. A "prefectural-level" administrative unit can be a
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1023:"China's 'new' first-tier cities compete to attract talent"
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373:成都市、重庆市、杭州市、武汉市、南京市、天津市、苏州市、西安市、长沙市、沈阳市、青岛市、郑州市、大连市、东莞市、宁波市
1240:"Population of Cities in China 2021 - StatisticsTimes.com"
16:
Unofficial hierarchical classification of
Chinese cities
268:
Total estimated urban population (2021) in millions
1325:
936:, an American investment banker and author of
913:
805:
510:
371:
292:
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1190:2017“新一线”城市排行榜发布成都、杭州、武汉蝉联三甲郑州、东莞新晋入榜_第一财经
190:Most Commercially Charming Cities in China
1256:
1178:
1071:"In China, Small Cities to Drive Growth"
996:
73:
841:, the Tier 1 Chinese cities consist of
1326:
1265:
1218:"2017城市商业魅力排行榜：15个"新一线"城市，你的家乡上榜了吗？"
1142:
827:An unofficial list published by the
710:Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
13:
14:
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1334:Administrative divisions of China
1312:
174:
126:as well as cities on Taiwanese (
57:
40:
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997:Hinsdale, Mason (2017-11-01).
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134:are not included on the list.
116:special administrative regions
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1:
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137:
1224:. 2017-05-26. Archived from
1055:. 2017-10-31. Archived from
927:
7:
1143:Ming, Cheang (2017-06-11).
96:hierarchical classification
10:
1355:
1169:"World Bank 世界银行：中国中小城镇概述"
104:People's Republic of China
938:How China’s Leaders Think
152:
1319:Yicai Global's city rank
1272:South China Morning Post
1189:
963:
839:South China Morning Post
830:South China Morning Post
823:South China Morning Post
84:Chinese city tier system
1296:The Wall Street Journal
215:administrative division
79:
227:autonomous prefecture
213:, the second highest
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934:Robert Lawrence Kuhn
1244:statisticstimes.com
915:北京市、上海市、重庆市、广州市、天津市
866:
246:
94:) is an unofficial
1268:"China city tiers"
1266:Hernández, Marco.
1052:Xinhua News Agency
864:
244:
233:. The four direct
80:
1120:"北上广深，谁会被挤出一线城市？"
925:
924:
885:Number of cities
881:
820:
819:
265:Number of cities
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211:prefectural level
128:Republic of China
67:, a "Tier 3" city
50:, a "Tier 2" city
33:, a "Tier 1" city
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294:北京市、上海市、广州市、深圳市
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1228:on 2017-06-08.
1222:news.ifeng.com
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1124:cj.sina.com.cn
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1075:Morgan Stanley
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235:municipalities
194:Chinese cities
192:, ranking 338
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175:Classification
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100:Chinese cities
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1299:. Retrieved
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1198:. Retrieved
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1101:. 2017-05-25
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1057:the original
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431:Shijiazhuang
370:
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239:Yicai Global
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186:Yicai Global
185:
183:
180:Yicai Global
145:
141:
108:
83:
81:
1003:Jing Travel
694:Lianyungang
658:Qinhuangdao
308:New Tier 1
198:prefectural
132:territories
1328:Categories
1301:2018-04-01
1277:2018-04-01
1249:2023-04-09
1200:2018-04-01
1154:2018-04-01
1129:2018-06-05
1105:2018-04-01
1099:Jing Daily
1080:2018-04-01
1032:2018-04-01
1008:2018-04-01
984:References
833:ranks 613
223:prefecture
138:Background
118:(SARs) of
114:only. The
954:Guangzhou
928:Criticism
906:Guangzhou
902:Chongqing
859:Chongqing
851:Guangzhou
786:Ma'anshan
734:Xiangyang
630:Zhanjiang
598:Zhangzhou
538:Zhenjiang
499:Zhongshan
439:Changzhou
423:Changchun
356:Zhengzhou
316:Chongqing
285:Guangzhou
184:In 2017,
165:Guangzhou
120:Hong Kong
958:Shenzhen
942:Shanghai
898:Shanghai
847:Shanghai
790:Nanchong
778:Dongying
762:Jingzhou
758:Qingyuan
738:Shangrao
714:Zhoushan
686:Hengyang
678:Zhaoqing
654:Xianyang
626:Mianyang
618:Yinchuan
586:Jiangmen
578:Yancheng
566:Langfang
550:Tangshan
542:Yangzhou
507:Jiujiang
495:Shaoxing
447:Nanchang
443:Quanzhou
364:Dongguan
348:Shenyang
344:Changsha
320:Hangzhou
289:Shenzhen
281:Shanghai
229:, and a
202:Big Data
169:Shenzhen
161:Shanghai
31:Shanghai
950:Tianjin
946:Beijing
910:Tianjin
894:Beijing
890:Tier 1
873:Cities
855:Tianjin
843:Beijing
802:Qiqihar
798:Xiaogan
782:Nanyang
754:Yueyang
746:Sanming
742:Yingkou
722:Longyan
718:Lanzhou
706:Jieyang
702:Lijiang
698:Dandong
690:Nanping
674:Huai'an
662:Zhuzhou
646:Yichang
638:Ganzhou
622:Liuzhou
594:Taizhou
590:Shantou
570:Luoyang
534:Baoding
530:Weifang
526:Tier 3
503:Taizhou
479:Huizhou
467:Nantong
463:Jiaxing
455:Taiyuan
451:Guiyang
435:Nanning
427:Wenzhou
407:Kunming
387:Tier 2
352:Qingdao
332:Tianjin
328:Nanjing
312:Chengdu
277:Beijing
273:Tier 1
253:Cities
157:Beijing
149:Chinese
102:in the
92:中国城市等级制
88:Chinese
878:pinyin
857:, and
794:Xining
774:Panjin
770:Quzhou
766:Tai'an
750:Lishui
730:Fushun
726:Luzhou
682:Ningde
666:Putian
650:Baotou
642:Daqing
634:Anshan
606:Jining
602:Handan
574:Weihai
562:Hohhot
558:Huzhou
546:Guilin
491:Ürümqi
487:Haikou
483:Xuzhou
475:Zhuhai
471:Jinhua
459:Yantai
419:Foshan
411:Harbin
395:Fuzhou
391:Xiamen
368:Ningbo
360:Dalian
336:Suzhou
258:pinyin
231:league
167:, and
151::
90::
65:Anshan
48:Xiamen
1172:(PDF)
964:Notes
870:Tier
670:Jilin
582:Linyi
554:Sanya
415:Jinan
403:Hefei
340:Xi'an
324:Wuhan
250:Tier
225:, an
124:Macau
1149:CNBC
956:and
816:305
614:Zibo
610:Wuhu
521:218
399:Wuxi
382:122
221:, a
219:city
153:一线城市
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