There are several major urban centres in the city, including Makuhari, a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located.

Some popular destinations in the city include: Kasori Shell Midden, the largest shell mound in the world at 134,000 m2 (160,000 sq yd), Inage Beach, the first artificial beach in Japan which forms part of the longest artificial beach in Japan, and the Chiba Zoological Park, popular on account of the standing red panda Futa.

[2] The name was adopted by a branch of the Taira clan, which moved to the area in present-day Chiba City in the late Heian period.

The branch of the Taira adopted the name and became the Chiba clan, which held strong influence over the area of the prefecture until the Azuchi–Momoyama period.

[3] The first records related to the city of Chiba record the emigration of Taira Tsuneshige (1083?–1088), a powerful bushi warlord of the late Heian period, to Shimōsa Province, which historically occupied the north of Chiba Prefecture.

[4] Tsuneshige's son, Chiba Tsunetane (千葉常胤) (1118–1201) was instrumental in aiding Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) with the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate.

Tsuneshige built a spacious residence and numerous temples in present-day Chiba City, and in the same period he transferred his power base from Ōji Castle to a mansion in present-day Chiba City.

[8][9] The Chiba clan's power and influence declined because of wars around the Kantō region during the Nanboku-chō and Muromachi periods.

[5] In the Sengoku period, the Hara clan was forcibly removed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義明, not to be confused with 足利義昭).

On the other hand, according to the Sakura clan, from the beginning of the Edo period, changed governors frequently, including Takeda Nobuyoshi, Matsudaira Tadateru, Ogasawara Yoshitsugu (小笠原吉次), and Doi Toshikatsu.

The city was a major center of military production leading up to the Pacific War, and the aerial bombing of Chiba in 1945.

[1] Per Japanese census data,[10] Chiba's population has expanded significantly over the past 70 years.

Chiba was governed by Keiichi Tsuruoka, an independent (elected with support of LDP and Kōmeitō), until May 1, 2009.