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Conurbation

A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cases, a conurbation is a polycentric urbanised area in which transportation has developed to link areas. They create a single urban labour market or travel to work area.

Patrick Geddes coined the term in his book Cities in Evolution (1915). He drew attention to the ability of the new technology at the time of electric power and motorised transport to allow cities to spread and agglomerate together, and gave as examples "Midlandton" in England, the Ruhr in Germany, Randstad in the Netherlands, and the Northeastern Seaboard in the United States.

The term as described is used in Britain whereas in the United States, each polycentric "metropolitan area" may have its own common designation such as San Francisco Bay Area or the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Internationally the term "urban agglomeration" is often used to convey a similar meaning to "conurbation". A conurbation should be contrasted with a megalopolis. In a megalopolis the urban areas are close but not physically contiguous, and the merging of labour markets has not yet developed. A conurbation should also be contrasted with a megacity. A megacity is hierarchical with an indisputable dominant urban core, whereas a conurbation is polycentric and no single urban centre has the dominant role over all other centres.

Egypt
Urban population rate: 47% (2015)

Mauritius
The cities and towns of Port Louis, Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, Curepipe, Quatre Bornes, Vacoas-Phoenix and other urbanized villages form a large and central conurbation on the island of Mauritius. A large part of this conurbation is located in the district of Plaines Wilhems. The network of urban areas has a total population of 606,650 (49% of the island's population) as of 2011.

Morocco
Rabat-Salé-Kénitra

Nigeria
Lagos is a conurbation formed through the merged development of the initial Lagos city area with other cities and towns including Ikeja and Ojo. Also various suburban communities such as Agege, Alimosho, Ifako-Ijaiye, Kosofe, Mushin, Oshodi and Shomolu are included in the area.

South Africa
Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni (East Rand), and Tshwane (greater Pretoria) merged to form a region that has a population of 14.6 million.

Afghanistan
Urban population rate: 25% (2015)

Armenia
Urban population rate: 67% (2015)

 * Yerevan Metropolitan Area: 1,132,741 (2015)
 * Leninakan Metropolitan Area: 105,161 (2015)

Azerbaijan
Urban population rate: 55% (2015)

 * Baku Metropolitan Area: 1,961,523 (2015)
 * Sumqayit Metropolitan Area: 425,195 (2015)
 * Ganca Metropolitan Area: 344,734 (2015)
 * Mingchevir Metropolitan Area: 124,961 (2015)
 * Naxcivan Metropolitan Area: 123,266 (2015)
 * Lankaran Metropolitan Area: 113,449 (2015)

Bahrain
Urban population rate: 23% (2015)

 * Al Manamah Metropolitan Area: 1,247,787 (2015)

Bangladesh
The city of Dhaka is linked with Narayanganj and Gazipur city; there are no gaps between Dhaka and those two cities. This conurbation which consists of the areas of the city of Dhaka and its surrounding cities and towns is collectively knowns as the Greater Dhaka City. The city of Dhaka is the core city of the conurbation and has a population of about 10 Million. The satellite cities of the conurbation include Narayanganj, Gazipur, Tongi, Fatullah, Keraniganj, Tarabo, and Kaliganj.

Cambodia
Urban population rate: 22% (2015)

 * Phnum Penh Metropolitan Area: 1,816,032 (2015)
 * Siem Reab Metropolitan Area: 273,620 (2015)
 * Bat Dambang Metropolitan Area: 175,941 (2015)
 * Paoy Pet Metropolitan Area (Paoy Pet + Ban Tha Kham): 122,897 (2015)

China

There are 3 well-known conurbations in China.
 * The Yangtze River Delta comprising Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Ningbo, houses 150 million people and in 2016 it generated $2.76 trillion, 20 percent of China's national GDP. It is responsible for one-third of China's imports and exports.
 * The Jingjinji, comprising Tianjin, Beijing, Tangshan and Qinhuangdao, houses an estimated 130 million people and is responsible for a GDP of $1.1 trillion.
 * The Pearl River Delta including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Hong Kong and Macau houses 60 million people and is responsible for a GDP of $1.5 trillion, 9% of China's national GDP.

Cyprus
Data are referred to pre-1974 Turkish Army occupation boundaries. Urban population rate: 59% (2015)

 * Nicosia Metropolitan Area: 228,293 (2015)
 * Lemesos Metropolitan Area: 159,460 (2015)

East Timor
Urban population rate: 31% (2015)

 * Dili Metropolitan Area: 262,234 (2015)

Georgia
Urban population rate: 56% (2015)

 * Tbilisi Metropolitan Area: 1,077,840 (2015)
 * Batumi Metropolitan Area: 175,251 (2015)
 * Kutaisi Metropolitan Area: 163,971 (2015)

Indonesia
Greater Jakarta or Jabodetabek comprises the largest urban area in Indonesia and the second-largest in the world with a population of around 30 million. The center and national capital, Jakarta, has a population of 10.3 million within its borders.

The second-most populated city in Indonesia, Surabaya, also forms a conurbation known as Gerbangkertosusila with a metropolitan population of about 10 million compared to the city proper of 3 million. Conurbations are also present around Bandung and Medan.

India
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) consists of Mumbai and its satellite towns. Developing over a period of about 20 years, it consists of seven municipal corporations and fifteen smaller municipal councils. The region has an area of 4,355 km2 and with a population of 20.5 million, and is among the top ten most populated urban agglomerations in the world. It is linked together through the Mumbai Suburban Railway system and a large network of roads.

The National Capital Region (NCR) is a name for the coordinated planning region which encompasses the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi as well as several surrounding districts in the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. However, the conurbation of Delhi is actually limited to the NCT of Delhi and the neighbouring contiguous urban areas comprising Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. The area is officially known as the Central National Capital Region (CNCR), a small part of overall NCR. The population of this conurbation was estimated 21.7 million in 2011. It is the world's third most populous urban agglomeration.

The Amaravati Metropolitan Region (AMR) of Andhra Pradesh is a conurbation of three cities, namely Vijayawada, Eluru and Guntur and 11 other towns which include Mangalagiri, Tadepalle, Tenali, Ponnuru, Chilakaluripeta, Narasaraopeta, Sattenapally, Nandigama, Jaggayyapeta, Nuzividu, Gudivada and Vuyyuru. The new capital city of the state, Amaravati, is being developed between the cities of Vijayawada and Guntur at the center of the conurbation. The region holds a total population of 58 lakhs.

The Jamshedpur Metropolitan Area has a plan of Greater Jamshedpur. This place contains the area and city of Adityapur, Maango and Jugsalai

Israel
Data are referred to 1949 Armistice boundaries, after 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Urban population rate: 59% (2015)
 * Tel Aviv metropolitan area: 2,362,273 (2015)
 * Jerusalem metropolitan area (both Israeli and Palestinian part): 1,521,423 (2015)
 * Haifa metropolitan area: 430,883 (2015)
 * Beer Sheva metropolitan area: 198,325 (2015)

Japan
Urban population rate: 69% (2015)

Jordan
Urban population rate: 80% (2015)
 * Amman Metropolitan Area: 3,672,403 (2015)
 * Irbid Metropolitan Area: 574,578 (2015)
 * Madaba Metropolitan Area: 104,759 (2015)

Kazakhstan
Urban population rate: 62% (2015)

Kyrgyzstan
Urban population rate: 38% (2015)

 * Bishkek Metropolitan Area: 1,119,915 (2015)
 * Osh Metropolitan Area: 401,135 (2015)

Kuwait
Urban population rate: 98% (2015)

 * Al Kuwait Metropolitan Area: 1,816,032 (2015)

Laos
Urban population rate: 37% (2015)

 * Vientiane Metropolitan Area (Vientiane + Si Chiang Mai): 407,100 (2015)

Malaysia
Urban population rate: 74% (2015)

Maldives

 * Malé Metropolitan Area: 131,839 (2015)

Mongolia
Urban population rate: 65% (2015)

 * Ulaanbataar Metropolitan Area: 1,316,070 (2015)

Nepal
Urban population rate: 21% (2015)

 * Kathmandu Metropolitan Area: 3,529,143 (2015)
 * Itahari Metropolitan Area (Itahari + Biratnagar + Jogbani): 837,791 (2015)
 * Pokhara Metropolitan Area: 252,903 (2015)
 * Bharatpur Metropolitan Area: 152,712 (2015)

Oman
Urban population rate: 76% (2015)

 * Masqat Metropolitan Area (Masqat + Al Seeb + Ruwi): 905,831 (2015)
 * Salahah Metropolitan Area: 208,005 (2015)
 * Suhar Metropolitan Area: 110,977 (2015)

Pakistan
Data are referred to 1972 Shimla Agreement borders, after 1971 Indo-Pakistani war.

Urban population rate: 39% (2015)

Palestine
Data are referred to 1949 Armistice boundaries, after 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

 * Gaza Strip Conurbation (Gaza + Rafah): 1,706,220 (2015)
 * Hebron Metropolitan Area: 238,426 (2015)
 * Tulkarm Metropolitan Area (Tulkarm + Tayibe): 158,781 (2015)
 * Nablus Metropolitan Area: 140,931 (2015)

Papua New Guinea
Urban population rate: 10% (2015)

 * Port Moresby Metropolitan Area: 262,015 (2015)
 * Madang Metropolitan Area: 110,610 (2015)

Philippines
Urban population rate: 59% (2015)

Qatar
Urban population rate: 46% (2015)

 * Doha Metropolitan Area: 1,646,118 (2015)

South Korea
Urban population rate: 84% (2015)

Sri Lanka
Urban population rate: 17% (2015)

 * Colombo Metropolitan Area: 4,303,603 (2015)
 * Kandy Metropolitan Area: 548,245 (2015)
 * Matara Metropolitan Area: 225,584 (2015)
 * Jaffna Metropolitan Area: 214,344 (2015)
 * Galle Metropolitan Area: 197,578 (2015)
 * Kalmunai Metropolitan Area: 134,013 (2015)
 * Batticaloa Metropolitan Area: 125,685 (2015)

Taiwan
Urban population rate: 80% (2015)

Tajikistan
Urban population rate: 29% (2015)

 * Dushanbe Metropolitan Area (Dushanbe + Hisor + Kofarnihon): 1,224,160 (2015)
 * Chucand Metropolitan Area (Chucand + Ckalovsk + Qistaquz): 353,276 (2015)
 * Kulob Metropolitan Area: 112,702 (2015)

Thailand
Urban population rate: 37% (2015)

Turkey
Urban population rate: 71% (2015)

Turkmenistan
Urban population rate: 53% (2015)

 * Asgabat Metropolitan Area: 901,080 (2015)
 * Mary Metropolitan Area: 159,946 (2015)
 * Dasoguz Metropolitan Area: 136,183 (2015)
 * Balkanabat Metropolitan Area: 124,782 (2015)
 * Turkmenabat Metropolitan Area: 108,822 (2015)

United Arab Emirates
Urban population rate: 85% (2015)
 * Dubai Metropolitan Area (Dubai + Sharjah): 4,979,694 (2015)
 * Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area (Greater Abu Dhabi): 787,746 (2015)
 * Al-Ain Metropolitan Area (Al-Ain + Al-Buraymi): 783,519 (2015)
 * Ras al-Haymah Metropolitan Area (Greater Ras al-Haymah): 181,691 (2015)

Uzbekistan
Urban population rate: 40% (2015)

Vietnam
Urban population rate: 33% (2015)

Albania
Urban population rate: 56% (2015)
 * Tirane Metropolitan Area (Greater Tirane): 719,252 (2015)
 * Durrës Metropolitan Area (Greater Durrës): 128,104 (2015)

Austria
Urban population rate: 69% (2015)
 * Vienna Metropolitan Area (Greater Vienna): 1,856,676 (2015)
 * Graz Metropolitan Area (Greater Graz): 262,476 (2015)
 * Linz Metropolitan Area (Greater Linz): 202,652 (2015)
 * Salzburg Metropolitan Area (Greater Salzburg): 140,052 (2015)
 * Innsbruck Metropolitan Area (Greater Innsbruck): 113,301 (2015)

Belarus
Urban population rate: 76% (2015)

Belgium
Urban population rate: 98% (2015)
 * Bruxelles Metropolitan Area (Greater Bruxelles): 1,381,517 (2015)
 * Antwerp Metropolitan Area (Greater Antwerp): 792,029 (2015)
 * Liege Metropolitan Area (Greater Liege): 381,673 (2015)
 * Gent Metropolitan Area (Gent + Sas van Gent): 263,643 (2015)
 * Charleroi Metropolitan Area (Greater Charleroi): 253,691 (2015)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Urban population rate: 52% (2015)
 * Sarajevo Metropolitan Area (Greater Sarajevo): 371,884 (2015)
 * Banja Luka Metropolitan Area (Greater Banja Luka): 159,289 (2015)

Bulgaria
Urban population rate: 73% (2015)
 * Sofia Metropolitan Area (Greater Sofia): 926,881 (2015)
 * Plovdiv Metropolitan Area (Greater Plovdiv): 309,004 (2015)
 * Varna Metropolitan Area (Greater Varna): 283,835 (2015)
 * Burgas Metropolitan Area (Greater Burgas): 111,381 (2015)

Croatia
Urban population rate: 61% (2015)
 * Zagreb Metropolitan Area (Greater Zagreb): 660,653 (2015)
 * Split Metropolitan Area (Greater Split): 218,497 (2015)
 * Rijeka Metropolitan Area (Greater Rijeka): 143,702 (2015)

Czechia
Urban population rate: 76% (2015)
 * Prague Metropolitan Area (Greater Prague): 1,126,681 (2015)
 * Brno Metropolitan Area (Greater Brno): 316,980 (2015)
 * Ostrava Metropolitan Area (Greater Ostrava): 186,520 (2015)
 * Plzen Metropolitan Area (Greater Pizen): 142,249 (2015)

Denmark
Urban population rate: 88% (2015)
 * Copenhagen Metropolitan Area (Greater Copenhagen): 1,225,959 (2015)
 * Aarhus Metropolitan Area (Greater Aarhus): 209,181 (2015)
 * Odense Metropolitan Area (Greater Odense): 124,557 (2015)
 * Aalborg Metropolitan Area (Greater Aalborg): 100,079 (2015)

Estonia
Urban population rate: 71% (2015)
 * Tallinn Metropolitan Area (Greater Tallinn): 344,511

Finland
Urban population rate: 86% (2015)
 * Helsinki Metropolitan Area (Helsinki + Espoo): 907,386 (2015)
 * Tampere Metropolitan Area (Greater Tampere): 134,673 (2015)
 * Turku Metropolitan Area (Greater Turku): 112,492 (2015)

France
Urban population rate: 86% (2015)

Germany
Urban population rate: 76% (2015)

Greece
Urban population rate: 64% (2015)
 * Athens Metropolitan Area (Greater Athens): 3,315,199 (2015)
 * Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area (Greater Thessaloniki): 813,775 (2015)
 * Patras Metropolitan Area (Greater Patras): 176,257 (2015)
 * Heraklion Metropolitan Area (Greater Heraklion): 155,251 (2015)
 * Larisa Metropolitan Area (Greater Larisa): 126,570 (2015)
 * Volos Metropolitan Area (Greater Volos): 104,289 (2015)

Hungary
Urban population rate: 70% (2015)
 * Budapest Metropolitan Area (Greater Budapest): 1,758,468 (2015)
 * Debrecen Metropolitan Area (Greater Debrecen): 166,658 (2015)
 * Miskolc Metropolitan Area (Greater Miskolc): 124,422 (2015)
 * Pecs Metropolitan Area (Greater Pecs): 119,904 (2015)
 * Szeged Metropolitan Area (Greater Szeged): 112,516 (2015)

Ireland
Urban population rate: 65% (2015)
 * Dublin Metropolitan Area (Greater Dublin): 1,004,263 (2015)
 * Cork Metropolitan Area (Greater Cork): 138,514 (2015)

Italy
Some Regional Laws approved during the 1970-1980s tried to define what an Italian conurbation is, but nowadays there's no government organization for a metropolitan area in Italy, so a conurbation has no official boundaries.

Urban population rate: 70% (2015)

Kosovo

 * Pristina Metropolitan Area (Greater Pristina): 196,913 (2015)

Latvia
Urban population rate: 69% (2015)
 * Riga Metropolitan Area (Greater Riga): 556,672

Lithuania
Urban population rate: 69% (2015)
 * Vilnius Metropolitan Area (Greater Vilnius): 355,430 (2015)
 * Kaunas Metropolitan Area (Greater Kaunas): 276,335 (2015)
 * Klaipeda Metropolitan Area (Greater Klaipeda): 111,199 (2015)

Luxembourg
Urban population rate: 86% (2015)
 * Luxembourg Metropolitan Area (Greater Luxembourg): 119,160 (2015)

Malta
Urban population rate: 88% (2015)
 * Birkirkara Metropolitan Area (Valletta and nearby cities): 279,473 (2015)

Moldova
Urban population rate: 50% (2015)
 * Chisinau Metropolitan Area (Greater Chisinau): 460,761 (2015)
 * Tiraspol Metropolitan Area (Greater Tiraspol): 157,770 (2015)
 * Balti Metropolitan Area (Greater Balti): 109,172 (2015)

Netherlands
Urban population rate: 84% (2015)

Northern Macedonia
Urban population rate: 64% (2015)
 * Skopje Metropolitan Area (Greater Skopje): 428,210 (2015)

Norway
Urban population rate: 81% (2015)
 * Oslo Metropolitan Area (Greater Oslo): 782,172 (2015)
 * Stavanger Metropolitan Area (Greater Stavanger): 161,284 (2015)
 * Bergen Metropolitan Area (Greater Bergen): 148,005 (2015)
 * Trondheim Metropolitan Area (Greater Trondheim): 147,468 (2015)

Poland
Urban population rate: 64% (2015)

Portugal
Urban population rate: 63% (2015)
 * Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Greater Lisbon): 2,169,391 (2015)
 * Porto Metropolitan Area (Greater Porto): 998,283 (2015)
 * Braga Metropolitan Area (Greater Braga): 119,657 (2015)
 * Funchal Metropolitan Area (Greater Funchal): 119,440 (2015)

Romania
Urban population rate: 60% (2015)

Serbia
Urban population rate: 59% (2015)
 * Beograd Metropolitan Area (Greater Beograd): 1,106,870 (2015)
 * Novi Sad Metropolitan Area (Greater Novi Sad): 263,087 (2015)
 * Nis Metropolitan Area (Greater Nis): 188,293 (2015)
 * Kragujevac Metropolitan Area (Greater Kragujevac): 126,766 (2015)

Slovakia
Urban population rate: 58% (2015)
 * Bratislava Metropolitan Area (Greater Bratislava): 352,002 (2015)
 * Kolce Metropolitan Area (Greater Kolce): 220,297 (2015)

Slovenia
Urban population rate: 53% (2015)
 * Ljubljana Metropolitan Area (Greater Ljubljana): 250,335 (2015)

Spain
Urban population rate: 79% (2015)

Sweden
Urban population rate: 86% (2015)
 * Stockholm Metropolitan Area (Greater Stockholm): 1,305,076 (2015)
 * Goteborg Metropolitan Area (Greater Goteborg): 496,226 (2015)
 * Malmo Metropolitan Area (Greater Malmo): 297,226 (2015)
 * Uppsala Metropolitan Area (Greater Uppsala): 109,542 (2015)

Switzerland
Urban population rate: 74% (2015)

United Kingdom
Industrial and housing growth in the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries produced many conurbations. Greater London is by far the largest urban area and is usually counted as a conurbation in statistical terms, but differs from the others in the degree to which it is focused on a single central area. In the mid-1950s the Green Belt was introduced to stem the further urbanisation of the countryside in South East England.

The list below shows the most populous urban areas in the UK as defined by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Different organisations define conurbations in the UK differently for example, the Liverpool–Manchester or the Manchester–Liverpool conurbation is defined as one conurbation by AESOP in a comparison report published by the University of Manchester in 2005 found here. The Liverpool–Manchester Conurbation has a population of 5.68 million.

Urban population rate: 89% (2015)

Ukraine
Urban population rate: 71% (2015)

Golden Horseshoe (Ontario)
The "Golden Horseshoe" is a densely populated and industrialized region centred on the west end of Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada. The largest cities in the region are Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Brampton, and Hamilton. If metropolitan areas (which are somewhat distinct from the core urban area of the Golden Horseshoe by about 30 to 50 km of less developed and semi-rural land) are included (similar to Combined Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States as defined by United States Office of Management and Budget), the total population is 8.8 million people. This is slightly over a quarter (25.6%) of the population of Canada, approximately 75% of Ontario's population, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in North America.

The larger area is named the Greater Golden Horseshoe and includes the metropolitan areas of Kitchener (including adjacent cities it is often referred to as Waterloo Region), Barrie, Guelph, Peterborough, and Brantford. The Greater Golden Horseshoe is also part of the Windsor-Quebec Corridor and its southeastern boundary is across the Niagara River from the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area in the United States.

Greater Montreal (Quebec)
Greater Montreal is Canada's second-largest conurbation. Statistics Canada defines the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as having 4258.31 km2 and a population of 3,824,221 as of 2011, which represents almost half of the population of the province of Quebec. Slightly smaller, there are 82 municipalities grouped under the Montreal Metropolitan Community to coordinate issues such as land planning, transportation, and economic development.

Lower Mainland (British Columbia)
British Columbia's Lower Mainland is the most populated area in Western Canada. It consists of many mid-sized contiguous urban areas, including Vancouver, North Vancouver (city and district municipality), West Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Surrey, and Coquitlam, among others. The Lower Mainland population is around 2.5 million (as of 2011) and the area has one of the highest growth rates on the continent of up to 9.2 percent from the 2006 census.

Ottawa-Gatineau / National Capital Region
The National Capital Region (NCR) is made up of the capital, Ottawa, and neighbouring Gatineau which is located across the Ottawa River. As Ottawa is in Ontario and Gatineau is in Quebec, it is a unique conurbation. Federal government buildings are located in both cities and many workers live in one city and work in the other. The National Capital Region consists of an area of 5,319 square kilometres that straddles the boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The area of the National Capital Region is very similar to that of the Ottawa-Gatineau Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) although the National Capital Region contains a number of small neighbouring communities that are not contained within the CMA. When all the communities are included, the population of the area is about 1,500,000. Ottawa-Gatineau is the only CMA in the nation to fall within two provinces and is the fourth largest.

Mexico City (CDMX)
The "CDMX" is the most densely populated center in North America. Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Valley of Mexico Metropolitan Area (Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México), constituted by Mexico City itself composed of 16 Municipalities—and 41 adjacent municipalities of the states of Mexico and Hidalgo. However, for normative purposes, Greater Mexico City most commonly refers to the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México) an agglomeration that incorporates 18 additional municipalities. As of 2019 an estimated 27,782,000 people lived in Greater Mexico City, making it the largest metropolitan area in North America. It is surrounded by thin strips of highlands which separate it from other adjacent metropolitan areas, of which the biggest are Puebla, Toluca, and Cuernavaca-Cuautla, and together with which it makes up the Mexico City megalopolis.

Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (Zona Metropolitana de Guadalajara)
The Guadalajara conurbation in the state of Jalisco (colloquially known as the City of Guadalajara, as that is the state capital and most populous of the cities) comprises seven municipalities: Guadalajara, Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, El Salto, Zapotlanejo, and Tlajomulco de Zúñiga. Officially two other cities (Juanacatlán and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos) are also considered part of the Metropolitan Area, though they are not contiguous with the other seven. The area had an estimated population of 4 500 000 in 2010, spread over a combined area of 2734 km2.

United States
New York City, Southern RI and CT, illuminated at night.jpg, the world's most brightly illuminated conurbation and largest urban landmass

Long Island extends 120 miles eastward from Manhattan, the central core of the conurbation.]]

Puerto Rico
The Caribbean area has a conurbation in Puerto Rico consisting of San Juan, Bayamón, Guaynabo, Carolina, Canóvanas, Trujillo Alto, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Cataño, and Caguas. This area is colloquially known as the "Área Metropolitana", and houses around 1.4 million inhabitants spread over an area of approximately 396.61 square kilometers (153.13 sq mi), making it the largest city in the Caribbean by area.

New York Tri-state area
One example of a conurbation is the expansive concept of the New York metropolitan area (the Tri-state region) centered on New York City, including 30 counties spread among New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, with an estimated population of 21,961,994 in 2007. Approximately one-fifteenth of all U.S. residents live in the Greater New York City area, the world's most brightly illuminated urban conurbation and largest urban landmass. This conurbation is the result of several central cities whose urban areas have merged.

Greater Boston Area
Holding a population of 7,427,336 as of 2005, the Combined Statistical Area including Greater Boston consists of Boston proper and a collection of distinct but intertwined cities including Providence, Rhode Island, Worcester, Massachusetts, and Manchester, New Hampshire. Most importantly, the cities that compose the Greater Boston CSA are interlinked by heavy public transportation infrastructure, maintain continuously urban interstices, and hold mutual commuting patterns.

San Francisco Bay Area
Another conurbation is the combination of the metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose and several minor urban centers with a combined population of nearly 8 million people, known as the San Francisco Bay Area.

Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area consists of the merging of several distinct central cities and counties, including Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. This area is also often referred to simply as Southern California or colloquially as SoCal (a larger region which includes San Diego). In 2016, Southern California had a population of 23,800,500, making it slightly larger than the New York Tri-State Area, and is projected to remain so due to a faster growth rate. But because Southern California is not yet a recognized Combined Statistical Area by the United States Office of Management and Budget, the New York Tri-State Area officially remains the nation's largest as of now.

Greater Houston area
An example of a conurbation is seen in Greater Houston. Centered in Houston, the area is continuously urbanized from the coastal areas of Galveston extending through the northern side of the metro area, including The Woodlands, Conroe, and Spring, and going up to Huntsville. The suburbs of Fort Bend County, Texas extend through the cities of the Galveston Bay Area and beyond. It has a population of 7,197,883.

Baltimore–Washington Area
The traditionally separate metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. have shared suburbs and a continuous urbanization between the two central cities (Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area).

San Diego–Tijuana
The largest conurbation between the United States and Mexico is San Diego–Tijuana. It includes the two countries' busiest border crossing and a shared economy.

Dallas–Fort Worth
Three large cities—Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington—make up this area. Each city is linked by bordering city limits or suburbs. The area is also known as the Dallas–Fort Worth "metroplex", so called because it has more than one principal anchor city of nearly equal size or importance, and is included in the emerging megalopolis known as the Texas Triangle. According to Texas Monthly, the term is a portmanteau of the terms "metropolitan" and "complex" and was created by a local advertising agency, TracyLocke. The North Texas Commission trademarked the term "Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex" in 1972 as a replacement for the previously ubiquitous term "North Texas". Urban areas with smaller secondary anchor cities (including Mexico City, New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, and Phoenix) are not considered to be conurbations.

Detroit–Windsor
The major U.S. city of Detroit lies immediately across the Detroit River from Windsor, Ontario in Canada. In many respects—economically, historically, culturally, socially, and geographically—Windsor is more a part of Metro Detroit than of Ontario. The two cities and their surrounding suburbs are commonly referred to collectively as the Detroit–Windsor area. The Detroit-Windsor border is the largest commercial border crossing in North America and the busiest between the two countries.

South Florida
The entire tri-county area also known as the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area is now continuously urbanized along a roughly 100 mi length of the Florida east coast as well as extending inland and continuing south of Miami as far as Florida City. Although this is generally all referred to as a single metropolitan area, not a conurbation, it is sometimes broken up into the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach metros.

Minneapolis–St. Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is the most populous urban area in the state of Minnesota, and is composed of 182 cities and townships built around the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix rivers. The area is also nicknamed the Twin Cities for its two largest cities, Minneapolis, with the highest population and Saint Paul, the state capital.

Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a metropolitan area located along the border of Illinois and Iowa. Straddling the Mississippi River as it flows west, the area once known as the "Tri Cities" consists of a handful of larger cities and smaller municipalities that have grown together. The largest cities include Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in Illinois as well as Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa.

Stamford-Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of Connecticut and fourth largest by population. Together, with Waterbury, New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford, these five cities form a conurbation, as people continue moving into the suburbs of these cities from rural areas, and the Boston and New York City metropolitan areas. Majority of Connecticut's growth in the last decade was centered in and around these five cities. Combined, the population exceeds 1 million.

The Valley of the Sun
Phoenix is the capital and most populous city in Arizona. It is the center of The Valley of the Sun which is recognized by the United States Census Bureau as Chandler, Mesa, and Phoenix in the MSA. Other communities in the metropolitan area include Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe, Gilbert, and Peoria.

The Front Range Urban Corridor
Denver is the capital and most populous city in Colorado, as well as the most populous municipality in the Front Range Urban Corridor. This conurbation encompasses 18 counties in Colorado and Wyoming and had an estimated population of 4,976,781 in 2018, an increase of 14.84% since the 2010 United States Census.

Albury-Wodonga
Albury and Wodonga are cross border cities which are geographically separated by the Murray River. Albury on the north of the river is part of New South Wales, while Wodonga on the south bank is in Victoria. In the early 1970s Albury-Wodonga was selected as the primary focus of the Whitlam government's scheme to arrest the uncontrolled growth of Australia's large metropolitan areas (in particular Sydney and Melbourne) by encouraging decentralisation. The two cities combine to form an urban area with an estimated population of 93,603.

Canberra-Queanbeyan
A cross border built-up area comprising the nation's capital Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory and the city of Queanbeyan in New South Wales, which is considered by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to have a single labour market.

Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong
This conurbation in New South Wales extends from Newcastle and surrounding satellite towns of the Hunter Valley through the Central Coast. It is broken up only by waterways and national parks, through to the greater Sydney metropolitan area and the Wollongong urban area. The total length from the top to the bottom of the conurbation is around 270 km with a population of just over 6 million people.

Transport is linked throughout the region by motorways, the M1, M2, M4, M5, M7, M8, M15 and M31. An extensive public transport network allows for commuting for work or services across and between multiple distinct but joined centres, with NSW TrainLink's intercity network serving Sydney, the Central Coast, Newcastle, the Hunter Valley and the Illawarra.

Plans for making Wollongong, Sydney and Newcastle a single city have been around since the 1960s. A report titled The Committee for Sydney contains a chapter called The Sandstone Mega-Region, Uniting Newcastle, the Central Coast, Sydney, Wollongong (since all of the cities are in a geological region called the Sydney Basin, which is made up of Sydney sandstone). The report says that the link would benefit the "six cities" within the region, which are: Illawarra and Wollongong, the Western City (Greater Western Sydney), the Central City (Parramatta), the Eastern City (Sydney central business district, eastern suburbs, and Northern Sydney), the Central Coast (Gosford) and Newcastle (including Lake Macquarie).

Greater Perth
The Perth Metropolitan Region, and Peel regions form a continuous urban area in Western Australia more than 130 km (80 miles) long, on a north–south axis. It is sometimes known as Greater Perth and has a population of more than 2.3 million (2023). Introduction of the Mandurah railway line in 2007 made it possible for commuters to travel the 70 km (43.5 mi) from Mandurah to Perth in 51 minutes.

South East Queensland
A built-up area 200 kilometres long which is centred on Brisbane, includes the local government areas (LGAs) of Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan City, Moreton Bay, Redland City, Sunshine Coast, Noosa Shire, and Tweed Heads, New South Wales. This area is served by a single public transport network, Translink.

Broader definitions of South East Queensland are also used, including the separate built-up area of Toowoomba (140 kilometres; 87 miles west of Brisbane), which is not part of the Translink network. Expansive definitions of South East Queensland give it a population of more than 3.4 million people (2014), covers 22,420 square kilometres (8,660 sq mi), incorporates ten LGAs, and extends 240 kilometres (150 mi) from Noosa in the north to the Gold Coast (some sources include Tweed Heads).

Greater Darwin
The Greater Darwin metropolitan area is a built-up urban area in the Northern Territory that spans across two cities: Darwin (the capital of the Northern Territory) and Palmerston (Darwin's satellite city). It lies within three local government areas: the City of Darwin, Litchfield Municipality and the City of Palmerston.

New Zealand
In 2010 Auckland became a unitary authority encompassing seven former city and district councils including Auckland City, Manukau City, North Shore City and Waitakere City as well as a number of smaller towns, rural area and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Auckland Council is the largest council in Australasia and the region has a population of 1,529,300, being almost 33% of the total population of New Zealand. The entire urban area rather than the constituent administrative city was often referred to as "Auckland" by New Zealanders long before formal recognition.

The Wellington Metropolitan Area compromises the four cities of Wellington City, Porirua and the cities of Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt, together known as Hutt Valley. The Wellington Metropolitan Area is the second largest urban population in New Zealand with a population of 440,900 as of the 2023 census (or 550,500 if the Wairarapa region is included), followed by Christchurch City at 396,200.

Argentina

 * Greater Buenos Aires (12.046.799) – Greater La Plata (694.253) – Zárate / Campana

Brazil
The entire Rio–São Paulo area is also sometimes considered a conurbation, and plans are in the works to connect the cities with a high-speed rail. However the government of Brazil does not consider this area a single unit for statistical purposes, and population data may not be reliable.

title: Conurbation


text:
Daoguang Emperor

The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign was marked by "external disaster and internal rebellion". These includes the First Opium War and the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion which nearly brought down the dynasty. The historian Jonathan Spence characterizes the Daoguang Emperor as a "well meaning but ineffective man" who promoted officials who "presented a purist view even if they had nothing to say about the domestic and foreign problems surrounding the dynasty".

Early years
The Daoguang Emperor was born in the Forbidden City, Beijing, in 1782, and was given the name Mianning. It was later changed to Minning when he became emperor. The first character of his private name was changed from Mian to Min to avoid the relatively common character Mian. This novelty was introduced by his grandfather, the reigning Qianlong Emperor, who thought it was inappropriate to use a common character in the emperor's private name due to the longstanding practice of naming taboo.

Mianning was the second son of Prince Yongyan, the 15th son and heir of the Qianlong Emperor. Even though he was Yongyan's second son, he was first in line after Prince Yongyan to his grandfather's throne. This was because according to the dishu system, his mother, Lady Hitara, was Yongyan's primary spouse whereas his elder brother was born to Yongyan's concubine. Mianning was favored by his grandfather, the Qianlong Emperor. He frequently accompanied his grandfather on hunting trips. On one such trip, at the age of nine, Mianning successfully hunted a deer, which greatly amused the Qianlong Emperor. The emperor would abdicate five years after that incident, in 1796, when Mianning was 14. Mianning’s father Prince Yongyan was then enthroned as the Jiaqing Emperor, after which he made Lady Hitara (Mianning's mother) his empress consort. The elderly Qianlong would live three more years in retirement before dying in 1799, aged 87, when Mianning was 17.

In 1813, while he was still a prince, Mianning also played a vital role in repelling and killing Eight Trigrams invaders who stormed the Forbidden City.

Khoja rebellion in Xinjiang

In September 1820, at the age of 38, Mianning inherited the throne after the Jiaqing Emperor died suddenly of unknown causes. He became the first Qing emperor who was the eldest legitimate son of his father. Now known as the Daoguang Emperor, he inherited a declining empire with Westerners encroaching upon the borders of China. His era name, "Daoguang", means "radiant path". The Daoguang Emperor had been ruling for six years when the exiled heir to the Khojas, Jahangir Khoja, attacked Xinjiang from Kokand in the Afaqi Khoja revolts. By the end of 1826, the former Qing cities of Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, and Yangihissar had all fallen to the rebels. After a friend betrayed him in March 1827, Khoja was sent to Beijing in an iron litter and subsequently executed, while the Qing Empire regained control of their lost territory. The Uyghur Muslim Sayyid and Naqshbandi Sufi rebel of the Afaqi suborder, Jahangir Khoja was sliced to death (Lingchi) in 1828 by the Manchus for leading a rebellion against the Qing.

First Opium War
During the Daoguang Emperor's reign, China experienced major problems with opium, which was imported into China by British merchants. Opium had started to trickle into China during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, but was limited to approximately 200 chests annually. By the time of the Qianlong era, this amount had increased to 1,000 chests, 4,000 chests by the Jiaqing era and more than 30,000 chests during the Daoguang era.

The Daoguang Emperor issued many imperial edicts banning opium in the 1820s and 1830s, which were carried out by Lin Zexu, whom he appointed as an Imperial Commissioner to Canton. Lin Zexu's efforts to halt the spread of opium in China led directly to the First Opium War. With China losing the war, Lin Zexu was made a scapegoat. The Daoguang Emperor removed his authority and banished him to Yili. During the war, the Daoguang Emperor ordered 187 British and Indian prisoners of war held captive in Taiwan Prefecture to be summarily executed in 1842 in retaliation for the Chinese defeat at the Battle of Ningpo; the executions were carried out on 10 August by Chinese officials. The Chinese defeat in the war exposed Qing China's technological and military inferiority to European powers, which led China in being forced to cede Hong Kong to the British in the Treaty of Nanjing in August 1842, and also pay a hefty indemnity which left the treasury desperate for funds. Meanwhile, in the Himalayas, the Sikh Empire attempted an occupation of Tibet but was defeated in the Sino-Sikh war (1841–1842).

Anti-Christianity
In 1811, a clause sentencing Europeans to death for spreading Catholicism had been added to the statute called "Prohibitions Concerning Sorcerers and Sorceresses" (禁止師巫邪術) in the Great Qing Legal Code. Protestants hoped that the Qing government would discriminate between Protestantism and Catholicism, since the law mentioned the latter by name, but after Protestant missionaries gave Christian books to Chinese people in 1835 and 1836, the Daoguang Emperor demanded to know who were the "traitorous natives" in Guangzhou who had supplied them with books.

Noble titles
The Daoguang Emperor granted the title of "Wujing Boshi" to the descendants of Ran Qiu.

Death and legacy
The Daoguang Emperor died on 26 February 1850 at the Old Summer Palace, 8 km/5 miles northwest of Beijing, being the last Qing emperor to pass away in that Palace before it was burnt down by Anglo-French troops during the Second Opium War, a decade later. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Yizhu, who was later enthroned as the Xianfeng Emperor. The Daoguang Emperor failed to understand the intention or determination of the Europeans, or the basic economics of a war on drugs. Although the Europeans were outnumbered and thousands of miles away from logistical support in their native countries, they could bring far superior firepower to bear at any point of contact along the Chinese coast. The Qing government was highly dependent on the continued flow of taxes from southern China via the Grand Canal, which the British expeditionary force easily cut off at Zhenjiang.

The Daoguang Emperor ultimately had a poor understanding of the British and the industrial revolution that Britain and Western Europe had undergone, preferring to turn a blind eye to the rest of the world, though the distance from China to Europe most likely played a part. It was said that the emperor did not even know where Britain was located in the world. His 30-year reign saw rising economic tensions, sectarian instability and foreign interventions which would eventually lead to the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911.

The Daoguang Emperor was interred in the Mu (慕; lit. "Longing" or "Admiration") mausoleum complex, which is part of the Western Qing Tombs, 120 km southwest of Beijing.

Family

Empress
 * Empress Xiaomucheng (孝穆成皇后) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿氏; 1781 – 17 February 1808)
 * Empress Xiaoshencheng (孝慎成皇后) of the Tunggiya clan (佟佳氏; 5 July 1792 – 16 June 1833)
 * Princess Duanmin of the First Rank (端憫固倫公主; 29 July 1813 – 7 December 1819), first daughter

 * Empress Xiaoquancheng (孝全成皇后) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿氏; 24 March 1808 – 13 February 1840)
 * Miscarriage (2 January 1824)
 * Princess Duanshun of the First Rank (端順固倫公主; 8 April 1825 – 27 December 1835), third daughter
 * Princess Shou'an of the First Rank (壽安固倫公主; 12 May 1826 – 24 March 1860), fourth daughter
 * Married Demchüghjab (德穆楚克扎布; ? – 1865) of the Mongol Naiman Borjigin clan on 15 November 1841
 * Yizhu (奕詝), the Xianfeng Emperor (咸豐帝; 17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), fourth son

 * Empress Xiaojingcheng (孝靜成皇后) of the Khorchin Borjigin clan (博爾濟吉特氏; 19 June 1812 – 21 August 1855)
 * Yigang (奕綱), Prince Shunhe of the Second Rank (順和郡王; 22 November 1826 – 5 March 1827), second son
 * Miscarriage at four months (28 June 1828)
 * Yiji (奕繼), Prince Huizhi of the Second Rank (慧質郡王; 2 December 1829 – 22 January 1830), third son
 * Princess Shou'en of the First Rank (壽恩固倫公主; 20 January 1831 – 15 May 1859), sixth daughter
 * Married Jingshou (景壽; 1829–1889) of the Manchu Fuca clan in May/June 1845 and had issue
 * Yixin (奕䜣), Prince Gongzhong of the First Rank (恭忠親王; 11 January 1833 – 29 May 1898), sixth son

Imperial Noble Consort

 * Imperial Noble Consort Zhuangshun (莊順皇貴妃) of the Uya clan (烏雅氏; 29 November 1822 – 13 December 1866)
 * Yixuan (奕譞), Prince Chunxian of the First Rank (醇賢親王; 16 October 1840 – 1 January 1891), seventh son
 * Princess Shouzhuang of the First Rank (壽莊固倫公主; 24 March 1842 – 11 March 1884), ninth daughter
 * Married Dehui (德徽) of the Manchu Bolod clan in December 1859/January 1860 and had issue (one daughter)
 * Yihe (奕詥), Prince Zhongduan of the Second Rank (鐘端郡王; 14 March 1844 – 17 December 1868), eighth son
 * Yihui (奕譓), Prince Fujing of the Second Rank (孚敬郡王; 15 November 1845 – 22 March 1877), ninth son
 * Miscarriage (1848)

Noble Consort

 * Noble Consort Tong (彤貴妃) of the Šumuru clan (舒穆魯氏; 3 June 1817 – 9 November 1875)
 * Seventh daughter (30 July 1840 – 27 January 1845)
 * Princess Shouxi of the Second Rank (壽禧和碩公主; 7 January 1842 – 10 September 1866), eighth daughter
 * Married Jalafungga (扎拉豐阿; ? – 1898) of the Manchu Niohuru clan in November/December 1863
 * Tenth daughter (4 May 1844 – 26 February 1845)

 * Noble Consort Jia (佳貴妃) of the Gogiya clan (郭佳氏; 21 November 1816 – 24 May 1890)
 * Noble Consort Cheng (成貴妃) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿氏; 10 March 1813 – 10 May 1888)

Consort

 * Consort He (和妃) of the Hoifa-Nara clan (輝發那拉氏; ? – 18 May 1836)
 * Yiwei (奕緯), Prince Yinzhi of the Second Rank (隱志郡王; 16 May 1808 – 23 May 1831), first son

 * Consort Xiang (祥妃) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿氏; 9 February 1808 – 15 February 1861)
 * Second daughter (2 March 1825 – 27 August 1825)
 * Princess Shouzang of the Second Rank (壽臧和碩公主; 15 November 1829 – 9 August 1856), fifth daughter
 * Married Enchong (恩崇; ? – 1864) of the Manchu Namdulu clan on 3 January 1843
 * Yicong (奕誴), Prince Dunqin of the First Rank (惇勤親王; 23 July 1831 – 18 February 1889), fifth son

 * Consort Chang (常妃) of the Hešeri clan (赫舍里氏; 31 December 1808 – 10 May 1860)

Concubine

 * Concubine Tian (恬嬪) of the Fuca clan (富察氏; 15 April 1789 – 21 August 1845)
 * Concubine Shun (順嬪) of the Hoifa-Nara clan (那拉氏; 21 March 1809 – 11 April 1868)
 * Concubine Yu (豫嬪) of the Shang clan (尚氏; 20 December 1816 – 24 September 1897)
 * Concubine Heng (恆嬪) of the Cai clan (蔡氏; ? – 28 May 1876)

Noble Lady

 * Noble Lady Ping (平貴人) of the Zhao clan (趙氏; ? – 5 May 1823)
 * Noble Lady (貴人) of the Li clan (李氏; 25 November 1827 – 26 March 1872)
 * Noble Lady Na (那貴人) of the Hoifa-Nara clan (輝發那拉氏; 5 August 1825 – 9 September 1865)
 * Noble Lady Ding (定貴人) of the Sun clan (孫氏; ? – 24 January 1843)

Second Class Attendant

 * Second Class Attendant Mu (睦答應) of the Hešeri clan (赫舍里氏; ? – 2 June 1832)

Lady-in-waiting

 * Lady-in-waiting (劉官女子) of the Liu clan (劉氏; ? – 1843)

Popular culture

 * Portrayed by Lo Chun-shun in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1988)
 * Portrayed by Du Zhiguo in Sigh of His Highness (2006)
 * Portrayed by Sunny Chan in Curse of the Royal Harem (2011)
 * Portrayed by Nono Yeung in Succession War (2018)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Daoguang Emperor


text:
Jiaqing Emperor

The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, personal name Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He was the 15th son of the Qianlong Emperor. During his reign, he prosecuted Heshen, the corrupt favorite of his father and attempted to restore order within the empire while curbing the smuggling of opium into China. Assessments of his reign are mixed, either seen as the "beginning of the end" of the Qing dynasty, or as a period of moderate reform that presaged the intellectual movements of the 1860s.

Early years
Yongyan was born in the Old Summer Palace, 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the walls of Beijing. His personal name, "Yongyan" (永琰), was later changed to "Yongyan" (顒琰) when he became the emperor. The Chinese character for yong in his name was changed from the more common 永 to the less common 顒. This novelty was introduced by the Qianlong Emperor, who believed that it was not proper to have a commonly used Chinese character in an emperor's personal name due to the longstanding practice of naming taboo in the imperial family during ancient China period.

Yongyan was the 15th son of the Qianlong Emperor. His mother was Noble Consort Ling, the daughter of Wei Qingtai (魏清泰), an ethnic Han Chinese official whose family had been long integrated into the Manchu Eight Banners as part of a Han Banner.

The Qianlong Emperor originally had two other sons in mind for succeeding him, but both of them died early from diseases, hence in December 1773 he secretly chose Yongyan as his successor. In 1789, the Qianlong Emperor instated Yongyan as "Prince Jia of the First Rank" (嘉親王; or simply "Prince Jia").

Accession to the throne
In October 1795, the 60th year of his reign, the Qianlong Emperor announced his intention to abdicate in favour of Prince Jia. He made this decision because he felt that it was disrespectful for him to rule longer than his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor, who was on the throne for 61 years. Prince Jia ascended the throne and adopted the era name "Jiaqing" in February 1796, hence he is historically known as the Jiaqing Emperor. For the next three years, however, the Jiaqing Emperor was emperor in name and rite only because decisions were still made by his father, who became a Taishang Huang (emperor emeritus) after his abdication.

After the death of the Qianlong Emperor in the beginning of February 1799, the Jiaqing Emperor took control of the government and prosecuted Heshen, a favourite official of his father. Heshen was charged with corruption and abuse of power, stripped of his titles, had his property confiscated, and ordered to commit suicide. Heshen's daughter-in-law, Princess Hexiao, a half-sister of the Jiaqing Emperor, was spared from punishment and given a few properties from Heshen's estates. The Jiaqing Emperor commuted the death sentence of the scholar Hong Liangji who had criticised the policies of the Qianlong Emperor and Heshen, instead exiling him to a remote part of northern China and pardoning him altogether in 1800.

Heshen was described as the 'primary evil' effecting the Empire, and after his removal the Emperor pursued a series of reforms of the court, civil service and treasury. He was a traditionalist in terms of his role as an ethnic Manchu leader, taking parts in imperial hunts, inspection tours, and upholding strict court protocol. As part of this traditionalist approach, the Jiaqing Emperor promoted ministers on the basis of their commitment to a 'purist' approch to Confucian rule.

The impact of the Jiaqing Emperor's reforms are questionable, with the Emperor described by Jonathan Spence as having 'relied on rhetoric more than specific policies to cleanse his empire', with Heshen's clique soon replaced by other bureaucratic factions.

At the time, the Qing Empire faced internal disorder, most importantly the large-scale White Lotus (1796–1804) and Miao (1795–1806) rebellions, as well as an empty imperial treasury. The Jiaqing Emperor engaged in the pacification of the empire and the quelling of rebellions, although this came at a steep fiscal cost. He endeavored to bring China back to its 18th-century prosperity and power.

In 1813, the Jiaqing Emperor also faced the threat of the Eight Trigrams uprising, led by a millenarian Buddhist sect that launched a failed attack on the Forbidden City, with the intention of assassinating the Emperor upon his return from a hunting trip. The Jiaqing Emperor was intrigued by the leader of the rising, Lin Qing, and summoned him to a private interrogation. Lin was later executed by slicing.

Foreign relations
In 1816, William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst was sent as ambassador extraordinary to the court, intending to establish more satisfactory commercial relations between China and Great Britain. The Amherst Embassy proved a failure as a result of Amherst's refusal to perform a kowtow to the Emperor, but would prove to have a significant impact on British views of China and the Qing dynasty.

The Jiaqing Emperor refused the Vietnamese ruler Gia Long's request to change his country's name to Nam Việt. He changed the name instead to Việt Nam. Gia Long's Đại Nam thực lục contains the diplomatic correspondence over the naming.

Opposition to Christianity
The Great Qing Legal Code includes one statute titled "Prohibitions Concerning Sorcerers and Sorceresses" (禁止師巫邪術). In 1811, a clause was added to it with reference to Christianity. It was modified in 1815 and 1817, settled in its final form in 1839 under the Daoguang Emperor, and repealed in 1870 under the Tongzhi Emperor. It sentenced Europeans to death for spreading Catholicism among Han Chinese and Manchus. Christians who would not repent their conversion were sent to Muslim cities in Xinjiang, to be given as slaves to Muslim leaders and beys.

Chinese nobility
The Jiaqing Emperor granted the title Wujing Boshi to the descendants of Tang essayist Han Yu.

Personal life and interests
The Jiaqing Emperor commissioned printed compendia of courtly collections, which are an important source for our present understanding of Qing court art. He was a keen scholar of the Confucian classics (to which he devoted much of his time in the early years of his reign when the Qianlong Emperor remained de facto ruler), with 15,267 poems attributed to him.

Death and burial
On 2 September 1820, the Jiaqing Emperor died at the Rehe (Jehol) Traveling Palace (熱河行宫), 230 km (140 mi) northeast of Beijing, where the imperial court was in summer quarters. The Draft History of Qing did not record a cause of death. Some have alleged that he died after being struck by lightning, but others prefer the theory that he died of a stroke, as the emperor was quite obese. He was succeeded by his second son, Mianning, who became known as the Daoguang Emperor.

The Jiaqing Emperor was interred amidst the Western Qing Tombs, 120 km (75 mi) southwest of Beijing, in the Chang (昌; lit. "splendid") mausoleum complex.

Family
Empress

 * Empress Xiaoshurui (孝淑睿皇后) of the Hitara clan (喜塔臘氏; 2 October 1760 – 5 March 1797)
 * Second daughter (2 June 1780 – 6 September 1783)
 * Minning (旻寧), the Daoguang Emperor (道光帝; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), second son
 * Princess Zhuangjing of the First Rank (莊靜固倫公主; 20 October 1784 – 27 June 1811), fourth daughter
 * Married Manibadala (瑪尼巴達喇; ? – 1832) of the Mongol Tumed Borjigin clan in November/December 1802
 * Miscarriage at three months (18 August 1785)

 * Empress Xiaoherui (孝和睿皇后) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿氏; 20 November 1776 – 23 January 1850)
 * Seventh daughter (2 August 1793 – 16 July 1795)
 * Miankai (綿愷), Prince Dunke of the First Rank (惇恪親王; 6 August 1795 – 18 January 1838), third son
 * Mianxin (綿忻), Prince Ruihuai of the First Rank (瑞懷親王; 9 March 1805 – 27 September 1828), fourth son

Imperial Noble Consort

 * Imperial Noble Consort Heyu (和裕皇貴妃) of the Liugiya clan (劉佳氏; 9 January 1761 – 27 April 1834)
 * Prince Mu of the Second Rank (穆郡王; 4 February 1780 – 10 June 1780), first son
 * Princess Zhuangjing of the Second Rank (莊敬和碩公主; 30 January 1782 – 4 April 1811), third daughter
 * Married Sodnamdorji (索特納木多布濟; ? – 1825) of the Mongol Khorchin Borjigin clan on 24 December 1801 and had issue (one daughter)

 * Imperial Noble Consort Gongshun (恭順皇貴妃) of the Niohuru clan (鈕祜祿氏; 28 May 1787 – 23 April 1860)
 * Eighth daughter (8 March 1805 – 14 January 1806)
 * Princess Huimin of the First Rank (慧愍固倫公主; 18 February 1811 – 28 June 1815), ninth daughter
 * Mianyu (綿愉), Prince Huiduan of the First Rank (惠端親王; 8 March 1814 – 9 January 1865), fifth son

Consort

 * Consort Shu (恕妃) of the Wanyan clan (完顏氏; ? – 1792)
 * Consort Hua (華妃) of the Hougiya clan (侯佳氏; ? – 3 August 1808), personal name Liuniu (六妞)
 * Sixth daughter (2 August 1789 – June/July 1790)

 * Consort Zhuang (莊妃) of the Wanggiya clan (王佳氏; ? – 9 March 1811)
 * Consort Xin (信妃) of the Liugiya clan (劉佳氏; 26 April 1783 – 26 November 1822)

Concubine

 * Concubine Jian (簡嬪) of the Guangiya clan (關佳氏; ? – 14 May 1780)
 * First daughter (14 May 1780 – 24 November 1783)

 * Concubine Xun (遜嬪) of the Shen clan (沈氏; ? – 31 December 1786)
 * Princess Hui'an of the Second Rank (慧安和碩公主; 31 December 1786 – June/July 1795), fifth daughter

 * Concubine Chun (淳嬪) of the Donggiya clan (董佳氏; ? – 30 November 1819)
 * Concubine En (恩嬪) of the Uya clan (烏雅氏)
 * Concubine Rong (榮嬪) of the Liang clan (梁氏)
 * Concubine An (安嬪) of the Gūwalgiya clan (瓜爾佳氏; 1 March 1785 – 29 July 1837)

Noble Lady

 * Noble Lady Yun (芸贵人)
 * Noble Lady Yu (玉贵人)

First Class Attendant

 * First Class Attendant Hui (慧常在)

In fiction and popular culture

 * Portrayed by Yu Yang in War and Beauty (2004)
 * Portrayed by Xin Baiqing Legend of Jiaqing (2005)
 * Portrayed by Shaun Tam in Succession War (2018)
 * Portrayed by Tang Jiatong in Story of Yanxi Palace (2018)
 * Portrayed in Throne of Jade (2006), a historical fantasy novel by Naomi Novik.
 * Lord Jiaqing's Journey to Taiwan (嘉慶君遊臺灣), a Taiwanese folklore
 * Portrayed in Lord Jiaqing's Journey to Taiwan (1980)
 * Portrayed by Chen Ya Lan (Tân A-lân) in Lord Jiaqing and The Journey to Taiwan (2022)

title: Jiaqing Emperor