Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Beijing is one of the four municipalities of the PRC, equivalent to a province in China's administrative structure. Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.

Xi’an is one of China’s four ancient capitals (the others are Beijing, Nanjing and Luoyang). It has been China’s capital a number of times, during the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang Dynasties. The city is also the eastern end of the famous ancient Silk Road, which made it one of the richest and most important cities in China in its heyday.

One of the busiest ports in China and one of the fastest growing cities in the world, Shenzen Municipality has an official population of 13 million, 6 in the city itself.

Today Shanghai is one of the biggest financial centers in China, behind Hong Kong, and one of the busiest ports in the world, behind Singapore and Hong Kong.

Today, the city of 6 millions is perhaps most famous for its cosmopolitanism, its booming financial district, its forest of skyscrapers, and its thriving film industry.

Once known as Canton, Guangzhou sits just up the Pearl River from the South China Sea. The city proper has a registered population of 6 million, but if you include the whole metropolitan area it’s twice that.