China Government Administrative Divisions
The People’s Republic of China has five levels of government. The form and nature of the administrative bodies within each level varies somewhat, and the administrative bodies are known by different names according to their form and nature. They are (in descending order of size and scope of authority): provincial, prefectural, county, township, and village.
- Provincial: At this top level, China is divided into 22 provinces. The government of each standard province (Chinese: 省; pinyin: shěng) is nominally led by a provincial committee, headed by a secretary. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province; second-in-command is the governor of the provincial government. Although the provinces are ultimately subordinate to China’s central government in Beijing, they do have broad discretion over economic policy. This system of devolved authority constitutes what some economists have called “federalism with Chinese characteristics.”
- This first level of administration contains not just provinces, but also four other kinds of administrative bodies with essentially the same authority as the provinces. There are five autonomous regions (Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, Ningxia), four direct-administered municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing), two special administrative regions or SARs (Hong Kong, Macau), and one claimed province, Taiwan. This makes for a total of 34 administrative bodies at the provincial level.
- Prefectural: The provinces and autonomous regions are subdivided into 334 prefectural-level bodies, of four types. There are seven simple prefectures, 30 autonomous prefectures, 294 prefecture-level cities, and three leagues (specific to Inner Mongolia).
- County: At this third level, China has 2,852 county-level divisions. Included in this class are: 1,408 counties, 117 autonomous counties, 360 county-level cities, 913 districts, and 49 banners (a form specific to Inner Mongolia).
- Township: At this fourth level, China has 13,474 townships, 1,098 ethnic townships (small rural areas divisions designated for one or more ethnic minorities), 19,322 towns, 6,686 subdistricts, two country-controlled districts, 181 sum (unique to Inner Mongolia), and one ethnic sum (the Inner Mongolia equivalent of an ethnic township).
- Village: At the most local level, China has some 80,717 residential committees and 623,669 village committees. Residential committees are an urban division, while village committees are in rural communities. These administrative bodies don’t have much political importance but are more organizational in nature, handling the local functions of the Chinese census and mail system.
|
# |
Provincial-Level Administration |
# of Prefecture-Level Cities |
# of Autonomous Prefectures |
# of Prefectures |
# of Leagues |
|
1 |
Anhui Province |
16 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2 |
Beijing |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
3 |
Chongqing |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
4 |
Fujian |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
5 |
Gansu |
12 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
6 |
Guangdong |
19 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
7 |
Guangxi |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
8 |
Guizhou |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
9 |
Hainan |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
10 |
Hebei |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
11 |
Heilongjiang |
11 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
12 |
Henan |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
13 |
Hong Kong (SAR) |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
14 |
Hubei |
11 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
15 |
Hunan |
13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
16 |
Inner Mongolia |
9 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
17 |
Jiangsu |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
18 |
Jiangxi |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
19 |
Jilin |
7 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
20 |
Liaoning |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
21 |
Macau (SAR) |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
22 |
Ningxia |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
23 |
Qinghai |
2 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
24 |
Shaanxi |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
25 |
Shandong |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
26 |
Shanghai |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
27 |
Shanxi |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
28 |
Sichuan |
17 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
29 |
Taiwan |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
30 |
Tianjin |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
31 |
Tibet |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
32 |
Xinjiang |
4 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
|
33 |
Yunnan |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
|
34 |
Zhejiang |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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