Atlas of China
Open data
The data behind the atlas, as CSV and JSON, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: name the source as "Atlas of China" and link to this page or the page the data came from. The files are regenerated with every build of the site; each says when its content was last checked.
What is in them: the English and Chinese names, pinyin and coordinates (WGS 84) of the regions, the featured places and every listed site the atlas carries, the official listings each holds, the time each place needs, and the UNESCO, 5A and national heritage lists as the atlas uses them. The text is written for the atlas and checked against official lists and published sources; the coordinates are the points the map shows. Rail travel times are a separate dataset under the Open Database License, because they derive from OpenStreetMap: rail-net.json, described on the about page.
To cite: Atlas of China (2026). China's 34 province-level regions [and the other datasets]. https://www.atlasofchina.com/data/
China's 34 province-level regions · 244 featured places · 8,286 listed sites · 61 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China · 359 5A scenic areas, the official list · 5,056 national heritage sites, the official list
China's 34 province-level regions
One row per province, municipality, autonomous region and special administrative region, with the capital, the names in Chinese and pinyin, and the geography facts from Wikidata.
34 rows · content last checked 2026-10-18
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
id | the six-digit administrative division code (GB/T 2260) |
slug | the region page is /regions/<slug>/ |
name | English name |
name_zh | simplified Chinese |
pinyin | Hanyu pinyin with tone marks |
type | province, municipality, autonomous region, special administrative region, or region |
capital | the seat of government |
area_km2 | area in square kilometres (Wikidata) |
population | latest census or official estimate (Wikidata), with its year in population_year |
highest_point | name of the highest point, with highest_point_zh and its elevation in metres in highest_point_m |
borders | division codes of the neighbouring regions, separated by "; " |
neighbours | countries sharing a land border |
featured_places | featured places on the atlas |
listed_sites | listed sites (5A, 4A and national heritage; in Hong Kong and Macau, their heritage lists and tourist attractions) on the atlas |
url | the region page |
verified | date the region text was last checked |
244 featured places
The landmarks the atlas features, with coordinates, the gateway city, the best season, the time each needs and its official listings. The JSON adds each place's summary paragraph.
244 rows · content last checked 2026-10-29 · the JSON also carries each entry's summary paragraph
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
id | stable identifier; the page is /places/<id>/ |
name | English name |
name_zh | simplified Chinese |
pinyin | Hanyu pinyin with tone marks |
region_id | division code of the region, with its English name in region |
city | the city to stay in |
lat | latitude, WGS 84 |
lon | longitude, WGS 84 |
category | nature, heritage, city or culture |
designations | official listings: 5A, 4A, national (a national heritage site), hk-declared (a Hong Kong declared monument), mo-classified (Macau classified heritage), separated by "; " |
unesco | true when the place is, or belongs to, a World Heritage Site |
best_time | the months to go |
time_needed | how long a visit takes |
days | days to budget in an itinerary (0.5 to 3) |
tagline | one line on what it is |
url | the place page |
verified | date the text was last checked |
8,286 listed sites
Every scenic area rated 5A or 4A and every national heritage site that the atlas carries, with coordinates and the city; in Hong Kong and Macau, their declared monuments and classified heritage, and the tourism boards' attractions. The English Wikipedia lists are incomplete and carry no coordinates; this one is built from the official lists. The JSON adds each site's summary paragraph.
8,286 rows · content last checked 2026-10-28 · the JSON also carries each entry's summary paragraph
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
id | stable identifier; sites with a page have it at /places/<id>/, the others open on the map |
name | English name |
name_zh | simplified Chinese |
pinyin | Hanyu pinyin with tone marks |
region_id | division code of the region, with its English name in region |
city | prefecture-level city or prefecture |
lat | latitude, WGS 84 |
lon | longitude, WGS 84 |
category | nature, heritage, city or culture |
designations | 5A, 4A, national, hk-declared, mo-classified, separated by "; "; empty for a Hong Kong or Macau tourist attraction, which has no official grading |
time_needed | how long a visit takes |
days | days to budget |
url | the site's page, or its card on the map |
verified | date the text was last checked |
61 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China
Every World Heritage Site in China with its inscription year, region, representative coordinates and the featured places on the atlas that belong to it. Built from Wikidata and checked against the World Heritage List.
61 rows · content last checked 2026-10-25
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
whs_id | UNESCO World Heritage List number |
name | name on the World Heritage List |
name_zh | simplified Chinese |
year | year of inscription |
region_id | division code of the region the representative point falls in, with its name in region |
lat | representative point, WGS 84 |
lon | representative point, WGS 84 |
wikipedia | English Wikipedia article title |
atlas_places | ids of the featured places that belong to the site |
359 5A scenic areas, the official list
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism's list of 5A tourist attractions as published, matched to the atlas's entries.
359 rows · content last checked 2026-10-20
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
mct_id | the ministry's record id |
name_zh | the listed name, in Chinese, often prefixed with the city |
region_id | division code of the province, with its name in region |
prefecture | the city, as listed |
since | year of the 5A rating |
atlas_id | id of the matching entry on the atlas, with its English name and page in atlas_name and atlas_url |
5,056 national heritage sites, the official list
The Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in all eight batches, as published by the State Council and the National Cultural Heritage Administration, in Chinese.
5,056 rows · content last checked 2026-10-20
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
batch | 1 to 8; the year of each batch is on the lists page |
seq | number within the batch |
name_zh | the listed name |
category | the list's category, in Chinese |
era | period, as listed |
address | location, as listed |
region_id | division code of the province, with its name in region |
source | the notice the row was taken from |