In terms of area, China is the third largest country in the world, but it is the world’s largest based on population. China is divided into 23 provinces, 22 of which are controlled by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The 23rd province, Taiwan, is claimed by the PRC, but it is not administered or controlled by the PRC and is thus a de facto independent country. Hong Kong and Macau are not provinces of China but are called special administrative areas. Hong Kong measures 1,108 square kilometers, with Macau at 28.2 square kilometers. The provinces are ordered here by land area and include capital cities.
1. Qinghai
Area: 721,200 square kilometers
Capital: Xining
The name of the province comes from Qinghai Hu or Koko Nor (blue lake), which sits about 10,500 feet (3,200 meters) above sea level. The region is known for horse breeding.
2. Sichuan
Area: 485,000 square kilometers
Capital: Chengdu
Sichuan is known for it’s spicy food.
3. Gansu
Area: 454,300 square kilometers
Capital: Lanzhou
The Gansu Province includes some dramatic arid landscapes, including mountains, sand dunes, striped colorful rock formations, and a portion of the Gobi Desert.
4. Heilongjiang
Area: 454,000 square kilometers
Capital: Harbin
Heilongjiang Province is prone to severe winters that last from five to eight months, with only 100 to 140 frost-free days per year and four months with temperatures higher than 50 F. Nonetheless, some crops, such as sugar beets and grains, do grow there.
5. Yunnan
Area: 394,000 square kilometers
Capital: Kunming
The southwest China province of Yunnan is ethnically diverse, and each group has its own traditions and cuisine. Tiger Leaping Gorge was named a UNESCO World Heritage natural site.
6. Hunan
Area: 210,000 square kilometers
Capital: Changsha
The subtropical Hunan Province, known for its natural splendor, contains the Yangtze River on the north and is bordered by mountains to the south, east, and west.
7. Shaanxi
Area: 205,600 square kilometers
Capital: Xi’an
At the center of the country, Shaanxi history predates the earliest Chinese dynasties, as fossils of Lantian Man, from 500,000 to 600,000 years ago, have been found here.
8. Hebei
Area: 187,700 square kilometers
Capital: Shijiazhuang
You’ll travel to Hebei Province to go to China’s capital, Beijing, and can see the Yan Mountains, with a portion of the Great Wall, the Hebei Plain, and the North China Plain. About half of the province is mountainous.
9. Jilin
Area: 187,400 square kilometers
Capital: Changchun
The Jilin province borders Russia, North Korea, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Jilin contains mountains, plains, and rolling hills in between.
10. Hubei
Area: 185,900 square kilometers
Capital: Wuhan
The changes in the Yangtze River between summer and winter in this province are dramatic, with an average difference of 45 feet (14 meters), making it difficult to navigate in the winter when it’s shallowest.
11. Guangdong
Area: 180,000 square kilometers
Capital: Guangzhou
People around the world recognize Cantonese cuisine, from Guangdong. The province is the country’s richest, as it contains many large urban centers, though the wealth gap between urban and rural in the region is wide.
12. Guizhou
Area: 176,000 square kilometers
Capital: Guiyang
China’s Guizhou Province sits on an eroded plateau that slopes steeply from the center to the north, east, and south. Thus, rivers here flow from it in three different directions.
13. Jiangxi
Area: 167,000 square kilometers
Capital: Nanchang
The name of the Jiangxi Province literally translates to “west of the river,” meaning the Yangtze, but it actually is south of it.
14. Henan
Area: 167,000 square kilometers
Capital: Zhengzhou
Henan Province is the most populous in China. Its Huang He (Yellow) River, which is 3,395 miles (5,464 kilometers) long, has caused some of the deadliest floods in history (in 1887, 1931, and 1938) that together have killed millions. When it floods, it brings vast amounts of silt with it.
15. Shanxi
Area: 156,300 square kilometers
Capital: Taiyuan
Shanxi province has a semiarid climate, with the vast majority of its 16 to 20 inches (400 to 650 millimeters) of annual rainfall coming between June and September. More than 2,700 different plants have been identified in the province, including some protected species.
16. Shandong
Area: 153,800 square kilometers
Capital: Jinan
The seaside is a big feature of Shandong Province, as it has a peninsula that juts out into the Yellow Sea. Another water-related must-see tourist spot is Daming Lake in Jinan, where lotuses bloom on the water in the summer.
17. Liaoning
Area: 145,900 square kilometers
Capital: Shenyang
The peninsula area of the Liaoning Province was fought over in the 1890s and early 1900s by Japan and Russia and was the site of the Mukden (Manchurian) Incident in 1931 when Japan seized the city of Mukden (now Shenyang) and invaded Manchuria.
18. Anhui
Area: 139,700 square kilometers
Capital: Hefei
The name of the province means “peaceful beauty” and comes from the names of two cities, Anqing and Huizhou. The region has had human habitation for 2.25 to 2.5 million years.
19. Fujian
Area: 121,300 square kilometers
Capital: Fuzhou
The picturesque Fujian Province might be a small province, but due to its location opposite of Taiwan, bordering the China Sea, it’s been strategically important in its long history, which appears in written records dating to B.C.E. 300.
20. Jiangsu
Area: 102,600 square kilometers
Capital: Nanjing
Nanjing, in Jiangsu, was the capital during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644), and again from 1928 to 1949, and has been culturally and economically significant since antiquity.
21. Zhejiang
Area: 102,000 square kilometers
Capital: Hangzhou
One of the richest and most densely populated provinces of China, Zhejiang’s industry includes textiles, metal, furniture, appliances, paper/printing, car and bicycle manufacturing, and construction.
22. Taiwan
Area: 35,581 square kilometers
Capital: Taipei
The island of Taiwan has been a place much fought over for hundreds of years; it’s occasionally had self-rule but also has been a territory of the Netherlands, Nationalist China, and Japan. It’s where the Nationalist Chinese fled after the People’s Republic of China took over the mainland government in 1949.
23. Hainan
Area: 13,127 square miles (34,000 square kilometers)
Capital: Haikou
The name of the island province of Hainan literally means “south of the sea.” Oval in shape, it has a lot of coastline, 1,500 kilometers, featuring many bays and natural harbors.
Post time: Jun-16-2020