Maps and the Basics about Mainland China's Provinces

China is the world's third largest country, after Russia and Canada. Its political geography is complicated. Encompassing 5 different administrative zones, China has 22 Provinces, 5 Autonomous Regions, 4 Municipalities, 2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR), and 1 Claimed Province. The following is a list of the provinces in Mainland China in alphabetical order. Taiwan, the twenty-third and claimed province, is listed separately.

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Anhui Province

Capital city: Hefei
Provincial population: 64.6 million
Famous for:

Yellow Mountains (Huang Shan)
UNESCO villages and Huizhou Architecture
Jiuhuashan, one of China's 4 Holy Buddhist mountains.

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Fujian Province

Capital city: Fuzhou
Provincial population: 35.1 million
Famous for:

Xiamen (formerly "Amoy"),
Gulangyu
Wuyishan Scenic Area
Wulong Tea
Hakka architecture

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Gansu Province

Capital city: Lanzhou
Provincial population: 29.2 million
Famous for:

Gansu Provincial Museum in Lanzhou
Ming-era Great Wall Jiayuguan Pass
Dunhuang City for Silk Road history and Mogao Grottoes
Hexi Corridor portion of the Silk Road
Tibetan Autonomous Area encompassing Labrang Monastery

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Guangdong Province

Capital city: Guangzhou
Provincial population: 113 million
Famous for: factories and industry; its capital, Guangzhou (formerly "Canton").

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Guizhou Province

Capital city: Guiyang
Provincial population: 39 million
Famous for: large populations of minority peoples such as the Miao, Dong, and Buyi.

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Hainan Province

Capital city: Haikou
Provincial population: 7.2 million
Famous for: beaches at Yalong Bay

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Hebei Province

Capital city: Shijiazhuang
Provincial population: 68 million
Famous for: Chengde's Qing Dynasty summer palace (UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site), Great Wall Shanhaiguan Pass, the easternmost end of the Ming-era Great Wall.

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Heilongjiang Province

Capital city: Harbin
Provincial population: 38.2 million
Famous for: historically being part of Manchuria; Harbin's annual Ice & Snow Festival

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Henan Province

Capital city: Zhengzhou
Provincial population: 98.7 million
Famous for:

The Yellow River area - the cradle of Chinese Civilization
Shaolin Temple
The Longmen Grottoes

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Hunan Province

Capital city: Changsha
Provincial population: 67 million
Famous for:

Delicious spicy food
Mao Zedong's birth village of Shaoshan Chong
Wulingyuan scenic area

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Hubei Province

Capital city: Wuhan
Provincial population: 60.2 million
Famous for: The Three Gorges on the Yangtze River

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Jiangsu Province

Capital city: Nanjing
Provincial population: 75.5 million
Famous for:

Nanjing - the ancient capital of China and the site of major Japanese atrocities during WWII
Suzhou - UNESCO World Heritage Site full of gardens and temples
Yixing where China's most famous clay teapots are made

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Jiangxi Province

Capital city: Nanchang
Provincial population: 42.8 million
Famous for:

Jingdezhen - the home of Chinese porcelain
Lushan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Jilin Province

Capital city: Changchun
Provincial population: 42.2 million
Famous for:

Being historically part of Manchuria
The scenery at Heaven Lake on the North Korean border

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Liaoning Province

Capital city: Shenyang
Provincial population: 27.1 million
Famous for:

Being historically part of Manchuria
Manchu cultural and historical sites (the Qing Dynasty was established by the Manchus in Liaoning who then moved their capital to the Forbidden City in Beijing)
Dalian, a beautiful port city with beaches and foreign architecture

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