The ranking of China's provincial capitals in 2019 is: Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Xi'an, Fuzhou, Shijiazhuang, Shenyang, Changchun, Nanchang, Harbin, Kunming, Nanning, Taiyuan, Guiyang, Hohhot, Urumqi, Lanzhou, Haikou, Yinchuan, Xining. Among them, Guangzhou gdp ranked first and most developed.

Guangzhou is the capital of guangdong province, the national center city, mega city, the southern war zone command station. It is positioned by the State Council as an international metropolis, an international trade center, an international comprehensive transportation hub, a national comprehensive gateway city, and a national historical and cultural city.

Since the Qin Dynasty, Guangzhou has been the political, military, economic, cultural and scientific and educational center of South China. Guangzhou became the main port of the Maritime Silk Road from the 330s, the first major port in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, and the only major port for foreign trade in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In 2018, Guangzhou realized a gross regional product of 2,285.935 billion yuan, an increase of 6.2% over the previous year at comparable prices. Among them, the added value of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries amounted to 22.344 billion yuan, 623.407 billion yuan and 1,640.184 billion yuan respectively, representing year-on-year growth of 2.5%, 5.4% and 6.6% respectively.

Guangzhou's consumer market grew faster in 2018.In 2018, total merchandise sales in Guangzhou's wholesale and retail sectors amounted to 6,514.081 billion yuan, up 11.7 percent.

Guangzhou's total retail sales of social consumer goods amounted to 925.619 billion yuan, an increase of 7.6%, of which the retail sales of the wholesale and retail industry increased by 7.9%, and the accommodation and catering industry increased by 5.8%. At the same time, consumer demand for quality, above the limit of communication equipment, cosmetics retail sales increased by 16.5% and 12.0%.