China’s Seven Regions Explained
To help organize such a large and complex country, China divides itself into seven distinct regions comprised of several provinces that share geographic and cultural proximity to each other.
Understanding how China’s landscape is divided according to official governmental organizational principles can help inform your research and planning efforts for doing business in China with a Chinese company.
With a vast land mass (3.7 million square miles, just slightly smaller than the United States) and a staggering population of close to 1.4 billion people, China embodies a variety of geographical, cultural, and economic diversity. To help organize such a large and complex country, China divides itself into seven distinct regions comprised of several provinces that share geographic and cultural proximity to each other.
China has 23 provinces (including Taiwan), five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two special administrative regions (Macau and Hong Kong). You’ll encounter references to the seven regions of China in several circumstances, such as the address code on the China ID card numbering system; China’s company registration database, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System; and weather forecasts.
As we’ve done with our explanations of the China Tier Cities and of the China Free Trade Zones, we’ve organized the information on China’s seven regions in a table format for ease of use and review.
Seven Regions of China: Chart
| Region | Chinese name | Name in Pinyin (official romanization for standard Chinese) | Population | % of China’s total population | Area (in square kilometers) | % of China’s total land mass | Provinces: English (Chinese) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North China | 华北 | Huabei | 137,250,000 | 10.20% | 1,556,828 | 16.20% | Beijing (北) Tianjin (天津) Hebei (河北) Shanxi (山西) Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) |
| Northeast China | 东北 | Dongbei | 109,100,000 | 8.10% | 790,600 | 8.20% | Liaoning (辽宁) Jilin (吉林) Heilongjiang (黑龙江) |
| East China | 华东 | Huadong | 406,180,000 | 30.10% | 798,741 | 8.30% | Shanghai (上海) Jiangsu (江苏) Zhejiang (浙江) Anhui (安徽) Fujian (福建) Jiangxi (江西) Shandong (山东) Taiwan (台湾) |
| South China | 华南 | Huanan | 175,153,500 | 13.00% | 453,790 | 4.70% | Guangdong (广东) Guangxi (广西) Hainan (海南) Hong Kong (香港) Macau (澳门) |
| Central China | 华中 | Huazhong | 222,390,000 | 16.50% | 564,700 | 5.90% | Henan (河南) Hubei (湖北) Hunan (湖南) |
| Southwest China | 西南 | Xinan | 199,670,000 | 14.80% | 2,367,200 | 24.6%) | Chongqing (重庆) Sichuan (四川) Guizhou (贵州) Yunnan (云南) Tibet (西藏) |
| Northwest China | 西北 | Xibei | 100,890,000 | 7.5%) | 3,113,100 | 32.10% | Shaanxi (陕西) Gansu (甘肃) Qinghai (青海) Ningxia (宁夏) Xinjiang (新疆) |
*Sometimes these two regions are combined and are referred to as South Central China, or 中南 in Chinese.
** Note: not included when referring to Mainland China
Additional Resources
We know doing business in China is complex and challenging…especially when you don’t know where to start. Nuna Network helps you navigate the complexities of partnering with Chinese companies, providing information on everything you need to know before you do business together.