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Political divisions of China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 establishment of the People's Republic of China and the formation of autonomous regions which are based on Soviet nationality theory.
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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.
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 |
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| 3 | County level |
|
| 4 | Township level |
|
| 5 | Village level (informal) |
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| 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.
For a larger version of this map, see here.
Provinces are the most common type of province-level division.
| 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: Lienchiang.
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 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 (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 use 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 as well as the number of government workers to lower the budget.