2. First-tier cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
3. Second-tier cities are regional central cities other than the above four cities, which are generally considered as the following ten:
Nanjing, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Shenyang, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Jinan, Xi and Urumqi.
4. Third-tier cities are relatively developed big cities that are non-regional central cities, mainly except the above cities:
Provincial capital cities (except Lhasa, Xining, Yinchuan and Hefei) and more than a dozen cities such as Dalian, Qingdao, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Xuzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Dongguan and Foshan.
5. Fourth-tier cities are prefecture-level cities with relatively developed economies in various provinces:
In addition to the other provincial capital cities mentioned above, there are more than ten cities including Tangshan, Zibo, Yantai, Yangzhou, Nantong, Zhenjiang, Shaoxing, Quanzhou, Huizhou, Zhuhai and Liuzhou.
6. Fifth-tier cities: other cities in the middle reaches of GDP in coastal provinces, cities in the second and third places in GDP in non-coastal provinces, and top ten county-level cities in the top 100 counties, such as Handan, Weifang, Yancheng, Taizhou, Jiangmen, Shantou, Kunshan, Jiangyin, Changshu, Zhangjiagang, Cixi and Jinjiang.