As of April 27, the first-quarter GDP data for 2026 from all 31 Chinese provinces and municipalities have been released. Guangdong Province ranked first with a GDP of 3.5 trillion yuan, followed closely by Jiangsu Province at 3.45 trillion yuan. Shandong and Zhejiang provinces took the third and fourth spots, with GDP figures of 2.48 trillion and 2.37 trillion yuan, respectively. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's national GDP for the first quarter of 2026 reached 33.4 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.0% calculated at constant prices. The growth rates of provinces and cities including Shandong, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Shanghai, Anhui, and Beijing significantly exceeded the national average, reaching 5.5% or higher.
Focusing on individual cities, among the top 10 cities by GDP in 2025, eight have already disclosed their GDP data for the first quarter of 2026. Among them, Guangzhou achieved a GDP of 798.888 billion yuan with a growth rate of 6%, surpassing Chongqing to reclaim the fourth position nationally. It is noteworthy that cities with higher GDP rankings also exhibited markedly higher growth rates. With the exception of Chongqing, the other seven cities all posted GDP growth rates above 5.6%. This trend indicates a scenario where leading cities are strengthening their positions, characterized by both large economic scale and above-average growth momentum.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicate that the national economy achieved a positive start to the year, benefiting from intensified efforts by regional and departmental authorities to implement more proactive and effective macroeconomic policies. In the first quarter of 2026, the gross domestic product grew by 5% year-on-year, a significant increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.
By April 27, all 31 provincial-level regions had released their Q1 2026 GDP data. The figures show that Guangdong and Jiangsu occupied the top two positions, with GDPs of 3.5 trillion yuan and 3.45 trillion yuan, respectively. They were followed by Shandong and Zhejiang in third and fourth place, with GDPs of 2.48 trillion and 2.37 trillion yuan. The GDP of all other provinces and municipalities remained below 2 trillion yuan.
In terms of growth rates, 15 of the 31 regions recorded GDP growth equal to or greater than 5%. Tibet Autonomous Region recorded the highest growth at 6.1%, followed by Shandong and Zhejiang, both at 6%. Shanghai, Beijing, and Gansu achieved growth rates of 5.9%. Among the top 10 regions by GDP size, only Guangdong and Hunan had growth rates below 5%, while the others all exceeded the national average, highlighting the clear leading role of the top-tier regions.
At the city level, as of April 27, eight of the top 10 cities by GDP in 2025 have released their Q1 2026 data, with the exceptions being Suzhou and Nanjing. A key development is that Guangzhou's Q1 GDP reached 798.888 billion yuan, compared to Chongqing's 792.349 billion yuan, allowing Guangzhou to overtake Chongqing by 6.539 billion yuan and regain its status as the fourth-largest city by GDP in China. Guangzhou's growth rate of 6% is not only the highest among the top 10 cities but also represents its fastest pace of growth in the past five years. Since 2022, Guangzhou's GDP growth has surged from a low of 1% to the current 6%, marking a strong recovery.
The slowdown in Guangzhou's economic growth since 2022 was primarily attributed to dual pressures from its traditional automotive industry and the real estate sector. Currently, within its three pillar industries, automobile manufacturing has rebounded strongly, accelerating growth by 5.5%. Notably, the production of new energy vehicles increased by 36.1% year-on-year, driving rapid growth of 41.7% in the production of lithium-ion power batteries for vehicles and a 35.3% increase in the value added of smart automotive equipment manufacturing. The real estate market also appears to have bottomed out. Since Q1 2026, the property markets in the four first-tier cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen—have sequentially experienced a "small spring." Furthermore, propelled by a new round of urban renewal and industrial investment, Guangzhou's fixed-asset investment grew by 9.8% year-on-year, an acceleration of 16.5 percentage points from the full-year figure of the previous year, with construction and renovation investment surging by 16.3%. These factors have provided substantial support for Guangzhou's economic recovery.
Looking at the eight cities collectively, apart from Chongqing's 4.5% growth rate, the other seven cities all achieved growth rates above 5.6%, significantly higher than the national average. Particularly noteworthy are Shanghai and Beijing, which were the only two cities with Q1 GDP exceeding 1 trillion yuan. Despite their large economic bases, they still managed growth rates of 5.9%. This reinforces the pattern of leading cities maintaining strong momentum.
In fact, since real estate became intertwined with urban renewal, the property market's role has evolved beyond mere housing; it is now an integral part of the economic cycle, its development logic deeply connected to overall urban progress. As the real estate industry shifts from a traditional model focused predominantly on new development to a new pattern emphasizing both new construction and existing stock management throughout the entire lifecycle, the recovery of the property market is closely linked to the economic environment, urban development, and supply-demand dynamics. In recent years, the property markets in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Chengdu have consistently demonstrated independent trends. This resilience is underpinned by the continuous influx of skilled populations and the strong industrial advantages and solid fundamentals of these six cities. In Q1 2026, these six cities not only ranked high in terms of GDP but also posted growth rates significantly above the national average, suggesting they still possess considerable potential for future development. They can arguably be considered the most promising cities for the real estate market currently.
It is important to note that first-quarter performance, being the initial period of the year, may not be indicative of full-year results. Furthermore, given that Jiangsu Province holds the second-highest GDP among all regions at 3.45 trillion yuan, it is highly probable that the yet-to-be-released Q1 GDP figures for Suzhou and Nanjing, both located in Jiangsu, will also be substantial with strong growth rates.
It is evident that each of the top 10 cities by GDP possesses distinct advantages and characteristics. As coordinated development among major city clusters and regional integration processes deepen, the competitive landscape is likely to feature a coexistence of "the strong getting stronger" and "multiple points of growth." Throughout this process, the leading role of top-tier cities is expected to become even more firmly established.