Geography: 5 Most Populated Cities in China

Shenzhen skyline.

Beijing after the conclusion of the 2008 Olympic Games.

1. Shanghai: With a population of over 16 million, Shanghai is the largest city in China and the 10th largest city in the world. Shanghai sits on the Yangtze River Delta on China's eastern coast, and is roughly equidistant from Beijing and Hong Kong. Air pollution in Shanghai is low compared to other Chinese cities such as Beijing, but the rapid development over the past decades means it is still high on worldwide standards, comparable to Los Angeles.

2. Beijing: With a population of over 12 million, Beijing is China's second largest city and is the 19th largest city in the world. Beijing is also the capital city of the People's Republic of China and was host to the 2008 Olympic games. Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain, which opens to the south and east of the city. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city and northern China's agricultural heartland from the encroaching desert steppes.

3. Guangzhou: Guangzhou has a population of over 10 million, making it the third largest city in China. The city is part of the Pearl River Delta situated next to the Baiyun Mountain, which is locally referred to as "the lung of the city". Guangzhou has a lengthy monsoon season, spanning from April through September, averaging 67 inches of rainfall a year.

4. Shenzhen: Shenzhen has a total population of over 8 million people, and is one of China's most rapidly growing cities thanks to a large amount of foreign investors. A former fishing village in the 1970's, Shenzhen has had over $30 billion pumped into its economy from foreign investors for building factories and forming joint ventures. It is now reputedly one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

5. Tianjin: Tianjin has a population of around 6 million people, making it China's fifth largest city. Farmland takes up about 40% of Tianjin total area. Wheat, rice, and maize are the most important crops with fishing the most important along the coast. Tianjin is generally flat, and swampy near the coast, but hilly in the far north, where the Yanshan Mountains pass through the tip of northern Tianjin.