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,
Koreans in China thousand Goryeo households was brought under his administration. In 1266, Wang Jun (), a member of the Goryeo royal family, was sent to the Mongol Empire as a hostage. There were 2,000 Goryeo households accompanying him and settled down in current-day Shenyang city in Northeast China. The Korean population in China surged during the Ming Dynasty. According to the "Chronicles of Liaodong" (), Koreans and Manchus accounted for 30% of the total local population in Northeast China. In 1386, the Ming government set up the Dongningwei () and Guangningwei () to settle the increasing Korean population in Northeast China. Between