ðə lˈɪst kəntˈeɪnz ˈɔːl ðə sˈɪɾiz wɪððɪ ɐdmˈɪnɪstɹˌeɪɾɪv dˌɛzɪɡnˈeɪʃən ʌv "nˈæʃənəl sˈɛntɹəl sˈɪɾi" ænd "sˈʌbpɹəvˈɪnʃəl sˈɪɾi" ɪŋklˈuːdɪŋ fˈaɪv "mjuːnˈɪsɪpˈælᵻɾiz wɪð ˌɪndᵻpˈɛndənt plˈænɪŋ stˈæɾəs" ænd tˈɛn lˈɑːɹdʒ "pɹəvˈɪnʃəl kˈæpɪɾəl sˈɪɾiz", æz wˈɛl æz sˌʌm lˈɑːɹdʒ "spˈɛʃəl ˌiːkənˈɑːmɪk zˈoʊnz", "ˈoʊpən kˈoʊstəl sˈɪɾiz", ænd "pɹˈiːfɛktʃɚlˈɛvəl sˈɪɾiz".
The list contains all the cities with the administrative designation of "national central city" () and "sub-provincial city" () – including five "municipalities with independent planning status" () and ten large "provincial capital cities" (), as well as some large "special economic zones" (), "open coastal cities" (), and "prefecture-level cities" ().