political divisions of China
Due to China's large population and area, the political divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times. The constitution of the People's Republic of China provides for three de jure levels of government. Currently, however, there are five practical (de facto) levels of local government: the province, prefecture, county, township, and village.
The provinces serve an important cultural role in China. Many people tend to identify with their native province. Most of the provinces of China have boundaries which were established in the late Ming Dynasty. Major changes since then have been the reorganization of provinces in the northeast after the communist takeover of mainland China in 1949 and the establishment of autonomous regions which are based on Soviet nationality theory.
Levels
The Constitution of the People's Republic of China provides for three levels: the province, county, and township. However, two more levels have been inserted in actual implementation: the prefecture, under provinces; and the village, under townships. There is a sixth level, the district public office, below counties, but it is being abolished. The People's Republic of China administers 33 province-level regions, 333 prefecture-level regions, 2862 county-level regions, 41636 township-level regions, and several village-level regions.
Each of the levels correspond to a level in the Civil service of the People's Republic of China.
Summary
This table summarizes the divisions of the area administered by the People's Republic of China as of December 31, 2005.
| Level | Name | Types |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Province level |
|
| 2 | Prefecture level |
|
| 3 | County level |
|
| 4 | Township level |
|
| 5 | Village level (informal) |
|
Province level
| Province-level Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China by: |
|---|
| Area |
| Population |
| Population density |
| GDP |
| GDP per capita |
| HDI |
| Highest point |
| Natural growth rate |
| Life expectancy |
| Illiteracy rate |
| Historical capitals |
The People's Republic of China administers 33 province-level divisions, including 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two special administrative regions:
Provinces are theoretically subservient to the PRC central government, but in practice provincial officials have a large amount of discretion with regard to economic policy. Unlike the United States, the power of the central government was (with the exception of the military) not exercised through a parallel set of institutions until the early 1990s. The actual practical power of the provinces has created what some economists call federalism with Chinese characteristics.
Most of the provinces, with the exception of the provinces in the northeast, have boundaries which were established during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Sometimes provincial borders veer markedly away from cultural or geographical boundaries, a phenomenon described as "dog's teeth interlocking" (Chinese: 犬牙交错; pinyin: quǎnyájiāocuò). This was an attempt by the imperial government to discourage separatism and warlordism through a divide and rule policy. Nevertheless, provinces have come to serve an important cultural role in China. People tend to be identified in terms of their native provinces, and each province has a stereotype that corresponds to their inhabitants.
The most recent administrative changes have included the elevation of Hainan and Chongqing to provincial level status and the organization of Hong Kong and Macau as Special Administrative Regions.
<imagemap> Image:China administrative.gif|center
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498 364 489 359 479 350 487 Yunnan poly 451 320 460 329 461 348 475 360 476 351 481 352 481 343 475 342 478 328 487 327 492 313 477 305 484 292 478 286 470 304 470 313 Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region poly 354 212 360 232 354 236 364 249 390 249 383 266 408 293 410 284 441 280 446 288 432 308 449 317 466 313 469 293 481 284 485 289 482 303 510 316 532 286 560 282 564 268 591 259 586 243 599 230 601 240 628 229 628 221 641 217 652 239 664 239 664 224 667 220 675 231 720 199 707 176 701 182 689 151 702 153 702 133 692 122 718 92 728 47 717 35 712 43 692 45 682 26 676 28 666 21 671 13 667 7 653 23 657 22 663 33 647 74 628 87 617 82 603 114 606 120 627 121 632 116 643 115 665 137 646 139 614 151 616 161 575 181 561 176 551 187 559 200 524 226 493 226 457 241 419 228 414 220 Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region poly 534 286 513 317 495 316 490 331 511 341 508 362 496 363 498 368 485 370 478 365 474 374 479 378 475 394 465 395 464 409 505 420 522 430 523 414 531 412 522 401 547 400 533 372 540 355 535 327 543 318 537 307 548 284 Shaanxi poly 506 422 503 428 506 429 495 449 490 448 484 462 475 462 459 454 461 463 452 469 467 483 467 488 474 490 480 484 486 485 486 478 493 479 493 483 502 481 513 497 517 481 506 467 507 454 520 452 532 443 533 437 Chongqing Municipality poly 459 489 469 504 453 505 450 512 425 513 426 526 435 524 438 528 431 542 440 552 434 562 446 557 457 562 476 553 480 547 487 553 496 553 520 541 520 520 511 521 520 508 517 496 513 499 500 484 490 481 476 492 Guizhou poly 437 565 459 573 462 586 450 592 472 599 470 614 500 626 502 621 525 626 555 601 554 588 566 574 563 564 557 565 549 556 555 543 548 532 536 540 491 556 480 548 477 555 461 565 447 557 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region poly 549 285 538 307 543 317 539 358 534 374 585 357 587 343 583 337 592 316 583 305 588 290 596 286 595 274 587 271 596 266 592 260 566 267 561 280 Shanxi poly 588 341 590 356 538 374 548 396 557 413 590 415 594 428 616 432 626 424 626 413 620 414 614 411 610 403 616 393 620 391 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345 615 344 612 337 635 310 643 309 648 303 643 294 630 291 633 286 631 277 627 279 613 280 609 271 616 265 614 260 625 249 638 254 638 262 644 266 647 276 654 284 667 279 666 272 674 264 670 255 658 250 665 240 650 241 647 233 650 232 641 218 630 221 628 230 616 234 602 242 Hebei poly 668 8 673 14 667 22 676 28 676 25 684 28 690 45 712 41 716 35 730 47 722 66 725 82 718 98 694 122 707 141 716 141 722 154 741 152 750 157 760 155 762 164 768 164 777 173 779 163 793 180 793 176 809 168 821 175 815 149 824 140 840 140 845 94 849 84 847 82 845 73 815 94 803 96 797 89 793 76 778 69 754 68 723 11 707 6 692 1 Heilongjiang poly 706 142 702 152 689 151 695 158 700 181 711 174 721 194 730 197 733 202 737 198 748 216 747 220 756 237 769 218 789 221 785 209 796 207 806 198 806 188 813 190 823 185 821 175 813 173 809 169 796 174 793 181 780 164 777 172 772 173 768 165 763 164 761 156 754 155 748 157 741 152 725 155 715 141 Jilin poly 721 193 721 201 680 224 676 231 665 221 666 237 659 251 669 255 674 264 683 260 691 245 708 250 696 271 703 278 696 283 697 286 708 280 719 267 737 260 756 239 748 222 747 214 738 197 733 203 Liaoning poly 626 248 614 259 618 264 610 271 612 279 625 281 631 276 638 264 639 254 631 253 Beijing Municipality poly 639 264 631 277 633 285 630 291 643 295 649 282 646 280 647 277 643 276 642 267 643 267 Tianjin Municipality poly 664 303 645 304 633 311 612 337 616 353 605 365 613 367 615 371 629 374 631 367 640 366 646 373 656 368 660 373 675 359 695 337 696 327 719 320 721 310 704 311 690 306 678 320 665 318 Shandong poly 639 366 630 372 640 376 650 382 659 386 659 397 664 405 670 404 673 399 679 408 669 408 670 413 666 418 675 426 673 432 693 432 703 438 710 431 714 423 724 419 719 411 706 403 693 372 676 366 674 360 667 367 664 372 657 369 647 373 Jiangsu poly 628 373 636 384 628 389 620 384 620 392 609 403 616 411 625 413 627 425 619 434 630 440 627 446 634 463 645 459 643 467 650 459 668 467 678 456 676 451 685 449 683 445 688 434 675 433 676 427 666 421 669 413 669 410 677 408 678 404 673 400 671 404 665 405 662 398 658 397 659 387 653 386 Anhui poly 713 422 709 432 717 438 725 434 721 426 Shanghai Municipality poly 690 432 684 449 678 449 678 457 666 472 675 489 679 490 683 504 689 504 693 500 697 504 710 507 715 493 720 493 727 483 734 456 717 446 708 450 705 446 711 444 715 439 708 433 702 437 Zhejiang poly 595 480 602 493 593 512 597 513 601 552 611 549 614 555 606 565 627 561 632 566 637 540 643 535 642 531 645 527 643 521 653 512 651 504 660 498 674 490 666 475 668 468 655 465 650 460 642 467 645 459 640 457 630 465 623 463 621 466 Jiangxi poly 679 490 673 492 658 498 651 504 654 512 643 519 646 526 642 534 633 558 650 562 658 582 679 563 702 541 709 507 698 505 694 500 688 505 681 504 Fujian poly 600 605 602 615 669 616 668 604 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region poly 595 609 589 616 589 630 623 630 623 619 602 618 Macau Special Administrative Region poly 738 542 728 547 711 574 710 584 714 594 721 600 723 608 727 596 733 589 742 559 742 553 744 548 Taiwan
desc top-right </imagemap>
Provinces
Provinces are the most common type of province-level division.
Disputed area
| Name | Chinese (T) | Chinese (S) | Pinyin | Abbreviation | Capital | List of administrative divisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | 臺灣 or 台灣 | 台湾 | Táiwān | 台 tái | Jhongsing Village | List of administrative divisions |
Since its founding in 1949, the People's Republic of China has considered
Taiwan to be its 23rd province. However, the Republic of China currently controls this
province, which consists of Taiwan island and the Pescadores. The ROC also controls one
county of Fuchien (or Fukien) province: Kinmen; and part of a
second county:
Autonomous regions
Autonomous regions are province-level divisions with a designated ethnic minority, and are guaranteed more rights under the constitution. For example, they have a chairman (where regular provinces have governors), who must be of the ethnic group as specified by the autonomous region (Tibetan, Uyghur, etc)
Autonomous regions were established after communist takeover, following Soviet nationality policy. There are five in total.
| Name | Chinese (T) | Chinese (S) | pinyin | Designated minority | Local name | Abbreviation | Capital | List of administrative divisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guangxi | 廣西 | 广西 | Guǎngxī Zhuàngzú Zìzhìqū | Zhuang | Zhuang - Gvangjish Bouxcuengh Swcigih |
桂 Guì | Nanning | List of administrative divisions |
| Inner Mongolia | 內蒙古 | 内蒙古 | Nèiměnggǔ Zìzhìqū | Mongol | Mongolian - ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ / Öbür Mongghul-un Öbertegen Jasaqu Orun |
内蒙古 Nèiměnggǔ |
Hohhot | List of administrative divisions |
| Ningxia | 寧夏 | 宁夏 | Níngxià Húizú Zìzhìqū | Hui | (The Hui speak Chinese) | 宁 níng | Yinchuan | List of administrative divisions |
| Xinjiang | 新疆 | 新疆 | Xīnjiāng Wéiwúěr Zìzhìqū | Uyghur | Uyghur - شىنجاڭ ئۇيغۇر ئاپتونوم رايونى / Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayoni |
新 xīn | Ürümqi | List of administrative divisions |
| Tibet | 西藏 | 西藏 | Xīzàng Zìzhìqū | Tibetan | Tibetan - བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས / Bod.raṅ.skyoṅ.ljoṅs |
藏 zàng | Lhasa | List of administrative divisions |
Municipalities
Municipalities are large cities that have the same administrative level as provinces. Municipalities directly control county-level divisions, without an intervening prefecture-level. In practice, the actual metropolitan area of a municipality is only a tiny fraction of its total area; the rest of the municipality consists of towns and farmland. Chongqing is an extreme example of this — the rural population of this municipality exceeds its urban population.
There are 4 municipalities in the People's Republic of China.
| Name | Chinese (T) | Chinese (S) | pinyin | Abbreviation | List of administrative divisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing | 北京 | 北京 | Běijīng | 京 jīng | List of administrative divisions |
| Chongqing | 重慶 | 重庆 | Chóngqìng | 渝 yú | List of administrative divisions |
| Shanghai | 上海 | 上海 | Shànghǎi | 沪 hù | List of administrative divisions |
| Tianjin | 天津 | 天津 | Tiānjīn | 津 jīn | List of administrative divisions |
Special administrative regions
Special administrative regions (SARs) are local administrative regions with a high degree of autonomy under the One country, two systems arrangement, and come directly under the Central People's Government, as provided in the articles 12 of both basic laws of the two SARs.
Unlike provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, whose legal basis is provided for in Article 30 of the 1982 Constitution, special administrative regions are provided for in Article 31. The two SARs were established in 1997 and 1999 when the sovereignty of the two entities was transferred (from the United Kingdom and Portugal respectively) to the People's Republic of China.
The two special administrative regions come directly under the Central People's Government. As opposed to other provincial-level administrative divisions (provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions), SARs reserve a much higher level of autonomy, with their own courts of last resort, legal systems, passports, currencies, customs control, immigration policies, extradition, etc., except diplomatic relations and national defence. The SARs participate in various international organisations and sporting events as separate members/teams from the PRC.
Both SARs are small, and neither uses the administrative structure of mainland China. Hong Kong is divided into 18 districts, each with a consultative district council. Macau is administered as a whole by the SAR Government, with no further divisions, after the Portuguese-era municipalities were abolished.
| Name | Chinese (T) | Chinese (S) | Pinyin | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | 香港 | 香港 | Xiānggǎng | 港 gǎng |
| Macau | 澳門 | 澳门 | Àomén | 澳 ào |
See also:
Prefecture level
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Prefecture-level divisions are the second level of the administrative structure. As of December 31, 2005, this structure consisted of 333 divisions composed of:
- prefecture-level cities (283)
- prefectures (17)
- autonomous prefectures (30)
- Leagues (3) -- Inner Mongolia only
Prefecture-level cities form the vast majority of prefecture-level divisions. Prefecture-level cities are generally composed of an urban center and surrounding rural areas much larger than the urban core, and thus are not "cities" in the strict sense of the term.
Most provinces are divided into only prefecture-level cities and contain no other second-level administrative units. Of the 22 provinces and 5 autonomous regions only 3 provinces (Yunnan, Guizhou, Qinghai) and 2 autonomous regions (Xinjiang, Tibet) have more than three second-level or prefecture-level divisions that are not prefecture-level cities.
Prefectures are another level of government found at the prefecture-level. These were formerly the dominant second-level division, which is why this administrative level is often called "prefecture-level". However, they were replaced for the most part by prefecture-level cities rom 1983 to the 1990s. Today, prefectures exist mostly in Xinjiang and Tibet only.
Leagues are effectively the same as prefectures, but they are to be found only in Inner Mongolia. Like prefectures, leagues have mostly been replaced with prefecture-level cities. The unique name is a holdover from earlier forms of administration in Mongolia.
Autonomous prefectures are prefectures with one or more designated ethnic minorities. These are mostly to be found in China's western regions.
County level
As of December 31, 2005, there are 2872 county-level divisions, including 862 districts, 374 cities, 1464 counties, 117 autonomous counties, 49 banners, 3 autonomous banners, 2 special districts and 1 forestry district in mainland China (the Republic of China governs 23 county-level divisions, including 18 counties and 5 provincial municipalities).
Counties are the most common county-level division. Counties have continuously existed since the Warring States Period, much earlier than any other level of government in China. In Sinologist literature, xian are often translated as "districts" or "prefectures".
Autonomous counties are counties with one or more designated ethnic minorities. These are analogous to autonomous regions (at the province-level) and autonomous prefectures (at the prefecture-level).
Inner Mongolia has banners and autonomous banners, which are the same as counties and autonomous counties except in name. The name is a holdover from earlier forms of administration in Mongolia.
County-level cities are, like prefecture-level cities, not "cities" in the traditional sense of the word, since they are actually large administrative regions that cover both urban and rural areas. It was popular for counties to become county-level cities in the 1990s, though this has since been halted.
Districts are another type of county-level division. These were formerly the subdivisions of urban areas, consisting of built-up areas only. In recent years, however, many counties have been converted into districts, so that today districts are often just like counties, with towns, villages, and farmland.
There are also a few special county-level divisions. There is a county-level forestry district in Hubei province, Shennongjia, that is a county-level division; so are two special districts in Guizhou province, Liuzhi and Wanshan.
Township level
As of December 31, 2005 there were 41636 township-level divisions. These include 19522 towns, 14677 township, 1092 ethnic townships, 181 sumu, 1 ethnic sumu, 6152 subdistricts, and 11 district public offices.
In general, urban areas are divided into subdistricts, while rural areas are divided into towns, townships, and ethnic townships. Sumu and ethnic sumu are the same as townships and ethnic townships, but are unique to Inner Mongolia.
District public offices are a vestigial level of government. These once represented an extra level of government between the county- and township-levels. Today there are very few of these remaining and they are gradually being phased out.
Village level
The village level serves as an organizational division (census, mail system) and does not have much importance in political representative power. Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal like in the West, but have defined boundaries and designated heads (one per area):
In urban areas, every subdistrict of a district of a city administers many communities or neighborhoods. Each of them have a neighborhood committee to administer the dwellers of that neighborhood or community. Rural areas are organized into village committees or villager groups. A "village" in this case can either be a natural village, one that spontaneously and naturally exists, or an administrative village, which is a bureaucratic entity.
Special cases
Although every single administrative division has a clearly defined level associated with it, sometimes an entity may be given more autonomy than its level allows for.
For example, a few of the largest prefecture-level cities are given more autonomy. These are known as sub-provincial cities, meaning that they are given a level of power higher than a prefecture, but still lower than a province. Such cities are half a level higher than what they would normally be. Although these cities still belong to provinces, their special status gives them a high degree of autonomy within their respective provinces.
A similar case exists with some county-level cities. Some county-level cities are given more autonomy. These cities are known as sub-prefecture-level cities, meaning that they are given a level of power higher than a county, but still lower than a prefecture. Such cities are also half a level higher than what they would normally be. Sub-prefecture-level cities are often not put into any prefecture (i.e. they are directly administered by their province).
A concrete example is the Pudong District of Shanghai. Although its status as a district of a direct-controlled municipality would define it as prefecture-level, the district head of Pudong is given sub-provincial powers. In other words, it is half a level higher than what it would normally be.
Ambiguity of the word "city" in China
Due to the complexity of the political divisions, the Chinese word "市"(shì) or in English "city", have many different meanings.
By its political level, when a "city" is referred, it can be a:
- LV 1:
-
- Municipality of China, for example, Beijing
- LV 2:
-
- Sub-provincial city, for example, Shenyang
- Prefecture-level city, for example, Baoding
- LV 3:
-
- Sub-prefecture-level city, for example, Jiyuan
- County-level city, for example, Yiwu
When used in the statistical data, the word "city" may have three different meanings:
- The area administrated by the city. For the municipality, the sub-provincial city, or the prefecture-level city, a "city" in this sense includes all of the counties, county-level cities, city districts that the city governed. For the Sub-prefecture-level city or the County-level city, it includes all of the subdistricts, towns and townships that it has.
- The area comprised by its the urban city districts and suburb city districts. The difference between the urban district and the suburb districts is that an urban district is only comprised by the subdistricts, while a suburb district also have towns and townships to govern rural areas. In some sense, this definition is approximately the metropolitan area. This definition is not applied to the sub-prefecture-level city and the county-level city since they do not have city districts under them.
- The urban area. Sometimes the urban area is referred as (市区 shìqū). For the municipality, the sub-provincial city, and the prefecture-level city, it is comprised by the urban city district and the adjacent subdistricts of the suburb city districts. For the sub-prefecture-level city and the county-level city, only central subdistricts are included. This definition is close to the strict meaning of "city" in western countries.
It is important to specify the definition of "city" when referring to statistical data of Chinese cities. Otherwise, confusions may arise. For example, Shanghai is the largest city in China by the population in the urban area, but it is a smaller city than Chongqing by the population within the administration area.
History
Before the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, China was ruled by a network of kings, nobles, and tribes. The rivalry of these groups culminated in the Warring States Period, and the state of Qin eventually emerged dominant.
The Qin Dynasty was determined not to allow China to fall back into disunity, and therefore designed the first hierarchical administrative divisions in China, based on two levels: jùn commanderies and xiàn counties. The Han Dynasty that came immediately after added zhōu (usually translated as "provinces") as a third level on top, forming a three-tier structure.
The Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty abolished commanderies, and added circuits (dào, later lù under the Song) on top, maintaining a three-tier system that lasted through the Song Dynasty. (As a second-level division, zhou are translated as "prefectures".) The Mongol-established Yuan Dynasty introduced the modern precursors to provinces, bringing the number of levels to four. This system was then kept more or less intact until the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty to rule China.
The Republic of China streamlined the levels to just provinces and counties, and made the first attempt to extend political administration beyond the county level by establishing townships below counties. This was also the system officially adopted by the People's Republic of China in 1949, which defined the administrative divisions of China as three levels: provinces, counties, and townships.
In practice, however, more levels were inserted. Greater administrative areas were inserted on top of provinces, but they were soon abolished, in 1954. Prefectures were inserted between provinces and counties; they continue be ubiquitously applied to nearly all areas of China. District public offices were inserted between counties and townships; once ubiquitous as well, they are currently being abolished, and very few remain.
The most recent developments major developments have been the establishment of Chongqing as a municipality and the creation of Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions.
Reform
In recent years there have been calls to reform the administrative divisions and levels of China. Rumours of an impending major reform have also spread through various online bulletin boards.[citation needed]
The abolition of district public offices is an ongoing reform to remove an extra level of administration from between the county and township levels. There have also been calls to abolish the prefecture level, and some provinces have transferred some of the power prefectures currently hold to the counties they govern. There are also calls to reduce the size of the provinces. The ultimate goal is to reduce the different administration levels from five to three, (Provincial, County, Village) reducing the amount of corruption that goes on in between and reducing the number of government workers to reduce budget.
See also
External links
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