Not all Chinese cities are alike, and these differences are reflected in the challenges posed by urbanisation and the corresponding responses cities undertake, including the formulation of mandated five-year plans. These plans emerge from and contribute to a larger discursive process by which planners and other actors frame an understanding of the key issues that cities need to address. This research undertakes a content analysis of the 11th five-year plans of 286 major cities in China, leading to the identification of a set of key words permeating those texts. A cluster analysis is then conducted based on those key words describing principal tasks outlined in the five-year plans. Seven distinct clusters of cities emerge and an additional analysis using socioeconomic data from the China City Statistical Yearbook identifies the defining characteristics of each cluster and prototypical cities within them (Jilin, Liuzhou, Zhuzhou, Nanping, Xinyu, Chengde and Mianyang). Finally, by comparing the present socioeconomic profile and prospective development issues of each cluster, implications for national urban planning strategies in China are discussed.