After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Anshan, Benxi, and Fushun were also made municipalities, while Qingdao, Dalian, and Harbin were reduced to provincial municipalities. Hankou was merged into Wuhan. Hence there remained 12 municipalities, until Dalian was elevated in 1950. In November 1952, Nanjing was reduced to a provincial municipality. In July 1953, Harbin was restored to municipality status, along with Changchun. Except Beijing and Tianjin, which were under central control, all other municipalities were governed by the greater administrative areas.

In June 1954, 11 of the 14 municipalities were reduced to sub-provincial cities; many of them became capitals of the provinces they were in. Only Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin remained municipalities, until Chongqing was restored as a municipality in 1997 with a much enlarged area.

Number 1 is Beijing.  Number 2 in Tianjin. Number 3 - Chongqing.  Number 4 is Shanghai.

Name	Population	Area sq km	Density sq km
Beijing	19,612,368	16,801	1,167
Tianjin	12,938,224	11,760	1,100
Shanghai	23,019,148	6,340	3,630
Chongqing	28,846,170	82,300	2,158