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# How many Tier 1 cities does China have?
- URL: https://blog.chineseskill.com/2020/12/30/how-many-tier-1-cities-does-china-have/
- Published: 2020-12-30T12:12:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-05T03:54:44.000Z
- Author: ICY HU
- Tags: English, #Migrated-1785811753161, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-04 02:49

World tier 1 cities refer to those metropolises that have a global economic and political impact. The sheer size of these concentrated urban centers and the economies of scale are the biggest provers of global economic growth. The important status of these tier 1 cities are mainly reflected in various aspects such as the level of urban development, comprehensive economic strength, ability to drive regional economic growth, attractiveness to talents, the scale of information exchange, international competitiveness, scientific and technological innovativeness, and transportation accessibility. The cities’ connectivity is also measured and used to classify cities into levels of world city network integration. On November 13, 2018, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network released a list of world city rankings. A total of six Chinese cities made it to the first-tier (alpha) in the world: Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. And among the total of 55 world-class tier 1 cities in 2018, the indisputable top-ranking cities (alpha++) are London and New York. They stand out as clearly more integrated than all other cities and constitute their own high level of integration. And the top tier (alpha+) cities are Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney, Paris, Dubai, and Tokyo. These highly integrated cities complement London and New York, largely filling in advanced service needs for Pacific Asia.

## Quick Answer: How many Tier 1 cities does China have?

This article reports the 2018 GaWC world-city classification, not an official permanent count of China's domestic 'tier-one cities.' In that edition, Hong Kong and Beijing were Alpha+, Shanghai was Alpha+, Taipei and Guangzhou were Alpha, and Shenzhen was Alpha−. GaWC measures integration into a global network of advanced producer-service firms; later editions can change.

| Topic         | Key point from this guide                                                                                                                                                         |
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| Article focus | This article reports the 2018 GaWC world-city classification, not an official permanent count of China's domestic 'tier-one cities.' In that edition, Hong Kong and Beijing were… |

*Editorial note:* The headline uses 'Tier 1' loosely. GaWC's Alpha categories are a research classification of global network connectivity and should not be confused with China's informal commercial city-tier labels or an official administrative rank.  
*Authoritative source:* [GaWC: World Cities 2018 classification and methodology](https://gawc.lboro.ac.uk/gawc-worlds/the-world-according-to-gawc/world-cities-2018/?ref=blog.chineseskill.com). Accessed August 5, 2026.

世界一线城市指的是在全球政治、经济等社会活动中处于重要地位并具有主导辐射带动能力的大都市。其主要体现在城市发展水平、综合经济实力、辐射带动能力、对人才吸引力、信息交流能力、国际竞争力、科技创新能力、交通通达能力等各个层面。 2018年11月13日，GaWC发布2018年世界级城市名册，中国入选世界一线城市一共有香港、北京、上海、台北、广州、深圳六个。而2018年世界级一线城市（55个）中，特等城市分别为伦敦、纽约，一线强城市分别为香港、北京、新加坡、上海、悉尼、巴黎、迪拜、东京。

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Did GaWC name exactly six Chinese first-tier cities in 2018?

Six cities named in the article appeared across GaWC's Alpha+, Alpha and Alpha− groups, but they were not all in one identical category.

### What does the GaWC classification measure?

It estimates how cities function as nodes in a world-city network using the activities of advanced producer-service firms.

### Is GaWC the same as China's domestic city-tier system?

No. GaWC is an academic global-connectivity classification; domestic commercial tier labels use different, often unofficial criteria.

*Scope:* These answers summarize this article. Language and cultural usage can vary by context, speaker, region and time.