The permanent resident population of Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, currently exceeds 12 million, according to recently released figures from the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

As of the end of 2021, the permanent resident population of Hangzhou stood at 12.204 million, an increase of 239,000 compared to the previous year. This was the largest increase in population among the major cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Ningbo, a coastal city in East Zhejiang, saw its population increase by 124,000 to hit 9,544,000 last year. This was the second largest increase in the region.

About 10.2 million people reside in Hangzhou's urban areas, while nearly 2 million live in the rural areas.

As of the end of 2021, 17 cities in China had a permanent resident population of over 10 million.