Administrative divisions of China By its political level, when a "city" is referred to, it can be a: By its actual area and population, it can be: When used in the statistical data, the word "city" may have three different meanings: It is important to specify the definition of "city" when referring to statistical data of Chinese cities, otherwise, confusion may arise. For example, Shanghai is the largest city in China by population in the urban area but is smaller than Chongqing by the population within the administration area. Before the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, China was ruled by a network of kings,
Solar power in China Solar power in China China is the world's largest market for both photovoltaics and solar thermal energy. Since 2013 China has been the world's leading installer of solar photovoltaics (PV). In 2015, China became the world's largest producer of photovoltaic power, narrowly surpassing Germany. By the end of 2016, total PV capacity had increased to over 77.4 GW, and in 2017 China was the first country to pass 100 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity. By the end of 2017, China had 130 GW of installed solar capacity. As of May 2018, China holds the record for largest operational solar