East China (Chinese: 华东; pinyin: huá dōng) is a geographical region in the People's Republic of China, mainly consisting of seven province-level administrative divisions, namely the provinces (from north to south) Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and the direct-administered municipality Shanghai.

East China
Country China
Area
  Total
795,837 km2 (307,274 sq mi)
Population
 (2024)[1]
  Total
425,784,000
  Density483/km2 (1,250/sq mi)
GDP2024[2]
 - TotalCN¥52.22 trillion (US$8.1 trillion)
 - Per capitaCN¥122,647 (US$19,015.04)
Largest cityShanghai

The region was defined in 1945 as the jurisdiction area of the Central Committee's East China Bureau (华东局), which was a merger politburo agency of the Shandong Bureau and the Central China Bureau previously established during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the region included all the aforementioned provinces except Jiangxi, which was previously considered part of South Central China before being reassigned in 1961. The East China Bureau was abolished in 1966 due to the Cultural Revolution, but in 1970 the fourth five-year plan redefined the region as the East China Coordinated Region (华东协作区), which supported the logistics of the Jinan and Nanjing Military Regions. This geographical definition was retained after the economic reform of the 1980s.

Since the Chinese Government claims sovereignty over Taiwan and the few outlying islands of Fujian (Kinmen and Matsu), which have been ruled by the exiled Government of the Republic of China (who fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949) as its own territory, the nominal "Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China" is also classified in this region.

Administrative divisions

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GB[3] ISO No. 3166-2:CN[4] Province Chinese Name Capital Population (2020 census) Density Area Abbreviation Abbreviation in Chinese
31 Shanghai Municipality 上海市
Shànghǎi Shì
Shanghai 24,870,895 3,922.24 6,341 SH
32 Jiangsu Province 江苏省
Jiāngsū Shěng
Nanjing 84,748,016 847.91 102,600 JS
Zhè 33 Zhejiang Province 浙江省
Zhèjiāng Shěng
Hangzhou 64,567,588 615.67 102,000 ZJ
Wǎn 34 Anhui Province 安徽省
Ānhuī Shěng
Hefei 61,027,171 436.29 139,700 AH
Mǐn 35 Fujian Province 福建省
Fújiàn Shěng
Fuzhou 41,540,086 335.66 121,300 FJ
Gàn 36 Jiangxi Province 江西省
Jiāngxī Shěng
Nanchang 45,188,635 270.69 167,000 JX
37 Shandong Province 山东省
Shāndōng Shěng
Jinan 101,527,453 643.78 153,800 SD
Tái 71 Taiwan Province[a] 台湾省
Táiwān Shěng
Taipei 23,162,123 650.97 36,161 TW

Cities with urban area over one million in population

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Provincial capitals in bold.

#CityUrban area[5]District area[5]City proper[5]Prov.Census date
1Shanghai20,217,74822,315,47423,019,196SH2010-11-01
2Nanjing5,827,8887,165,2928,003,744JS2010-11-01
3Hangzhou5,162,0936,241,9718,700,373ZJ2010-11-01
4Jinan3,527,5664,335,9896,813,984SD2010-11-01
5Qingdao3,519,9193,718,8358,715,087SD2010-11-01
6Suzhou3,302,1524,072,08110,459,890JS2010-11-01
7Xiamen3,119,1103,531,3473,531,347FJ2010-11-01
8Hefei3,098,7273,310,2685,702,466AH2010-11-01
9Fuzhou2,824,4142,921,7627,115,369FJ2010-11-01
10Wuxi2,757,7363,543,7196,374,399JS2010-11-01
11Wenzhou2,686,8253,039,4399,122,102ZJ2010-11-01
12Ningbo2,583,0733,491,5977,605,689ZJ2010-11-01
13Zibo2,261,7173,129,2284,530,597SD2010-11-01
14Changzhou2,257,3763,290,9184,592,431JS2010-11-01
15Nanchang2,223,6612,357,8395,042,566JX2010-11-01
16Yantai1,797,8612,227,7336,968,202SD2010-11-01
17Xuzhou1,735,1661,967,2148,577,225JS2010-11-01
18Nantong1,612,3852,274,1137,283,622JS2010-11-01
19Huai'an1,523,6552,635,4064,801,662JS2010-11-01
20Linyi1,522,4882,303,64810,039,440SD2010-11-01
21Weifang1,261,5822,044,0289,086,241SD2010-11-01
22Huainan1,238,4881,666,8262,333,896AH2010-11-01
23Taizhou1,189,2761,902,5105,968,838ZJ2010-11-01
24Jinjiang1,172,8271,986,447see QuanzhouFJ2010-11-01
25Quanzhou1,154,7311,435,1858,128,533FJ2010-11-01
26Yancheng1,136,8261,615,8367,262,200JS2010-11-01
27Tai'an1,123,5411,735,4255,494,207SD2010-11-01
28Kunshan1,118,6171,644,860see SuzhouJS2010-11-01
29Wuhu1,108,0871,307,0422,263,123AH2010-11-01
30Putian1,107,1991,953,8012,778,508FJ2010-11-01
31Yangzhou1,077,5311,392,5634,460,066JS2010-11-01
32Cixi1,059,9421,462,383see NingboZJ2010-11-01
33Jiangyin1,013,6701,595,138see WuxiJS2010-11-01

See also

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Notes

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  1. The People's Republic of China considers Taiwan to be its 23rd province, but Taiwan is currently administrated by the Republic of China. Since 1945, the ROC only controls the island of Taiwan and Penghu. For Kinmen and Matsu, see note on Fujian Province. See also Political status of Taiwan

References

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  1. "Main Data of the Seventh National Population Census". National Bureau of Statistics of China. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021.
  2. GDP-2022 is a preliminary data "Home - Regional - Quarterly by Province" (Press release). China NBS. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  3. "GB/T 2260 codes for the provinces of China". Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  4. ISO 3166-2:CN (ISO 3166-2 codes for the provinces of China)
  5. 1 2 3 国务院人口普查办公室、国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司编 (2012). 中国2010年人口普查分县资料. Beijing: 中国统计出版社 [China Statistics Press]. ISBN 978-7-5037-6659-6.
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  • Wikivoyage logo East China travel guide from Wikivoyage