Provinces of the People's Republic of China

formally Provincial level divisions
Simplified Chinese	省级行政区
Traditional Chinese	省級行政區
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Shěng Jí Xíngzhèngqū
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	省
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Shěng

This article is part of the series: Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China

Provincial level Provinces (省; shěng) Autonomous regions (自治区; zìzhìqū) Municipalities (直辖市; zhíxiáshì) Special administrative regions (特别行政区; tèbié xíngzhèngqū)

Sub-provincial level Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures (副省级自治州; fùshěngjí zìzhìzhōu) Sub-provincial cities (副省级城市; fùshěngjí chéngshì) Sub-provincial new areas (副省级市辖新区; fùshěngjí shìxiá xīnqū)

Prefectural level Prefectures (地区; dìqū) Autonomous prefectures (自治州; zīzhìzhōu) Prefecture-level cities (地级市; dìjíshì) Leagues (盟; méng)

Sub-prefecture-level Sub-prefectural-level cities (副地级市; fùdìjíshì)

County level Counties (县; xiàn) Autonomous counties (自治县; zìzhìxiàn) County-level cities (县级市; xiànjíshì) City districts (市辖区; shìxiáqū) Ethnic districts Banners (旗; qí) Autonomous banners (自治旗; zìzhìqí) Forestry areas (林区; línqū) Special districts (特区; tèqū)

Township level Townships (乡; xiāng) Ethnic townships (民族乡; mínzúxiāng) Towns (镇; zhèn) Subdistricts (街道办事处; jiēdào bànshìchù) Sumus (苏木; sūmù) Ethnic sumus (民族苏木; mínzúsūmù) District public offices (abolishing) (区公所; qū gōngsuǒ)

Village level Village Committees (村民委员会; cūnmín-wěiyuánhùi) Neighborhood Committees (居民委员会; jūmín-wěiyuánhùi)

History of the political divisions of China

A province, in the context of Chinese government, is a translation of sheng formally provincial level divisions, which is an administrative division. Provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and the special administrative regions, make up the four types of province of administrative division of People's Republic of China (PRC or commonly "China" for short).^[1] The PRC claims Taiwan (Republic of China) as a first-level province, though Taiwan is actually a self-governing democracy that has never recognised the claim. A "first-level province" is considered to be a province that was administered by the Republic of China between 1912 and 1949 that is not today administered by the PRC.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) currently administers total of 33 province divisions (22 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous regions and 2 special administrative regions). The PRC also asserts itself as the sole legitimate representative of all of China, but does not administer, Taiwan Province, PRC as a 23rd province. The Republic of China (ROC) administers Taiwan Province, ROC, as well as some offshore islands including Quemoy/Kinmen (Jinmen) and Matsu (Mazu), which form Fujian Province, ROC and was part of an originally unified Fujian province, but since 1949 divided between PRC and ROC after the Chinese Civil War.

In the People's Republic of China, every province has a Communist Party of China provincial committee, headed by a secretary beside the two special administrative regions. The committee secretary is in charge of the province, rather than the governor of the provincial government.

Contents 1 Types of provinces 1.1 Province 1.2 Special administrative region (SAR) 1.3 Municipality 1.4 Autonomous region 2 List of Provinces 3 Map 4 History 4.1 List of former Provinces 5 Economy 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

Types of provinces

Province

Province (省; shěng)— A standard provincial government is nominally led by a provincial committee, headed by a secretary. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province, come in second is the governor of the provincial government.

The People's Republic of China claims the island of Taiwan and its surrounding islets, including Penghu, as "Taiwan Province". (Kinmen and the Matsu Islands are claimed by the PRC as part of its Fujian Province. Pratas and Itu Aba are claimed by the PRC as part of Guangdong and Hainan provinces respectively.) The territory is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC, commonly called "Taiwan").

Special administrative region (SAR)

Special administrative region (SAR) (特別行政區; tèbiéxíngzhèngqū)— A highly autonomous and self-governing subnational subject of the People's Republic of China that is directly under the Central People's Government. Each SAR has a provincial level^[2][3][4] chief executive as head of the region and head of government. The region's government is not fully independent, as foreign policy and military defence are the responsibility of the central government, according to the basic laws.

Municipality

Municipality (直辖市; zhíxiáshì)— A higher level of city which is directly under the Chinese government, with status equal to that of the provinces. In practice, their political status are higher than common provinces.

Autonomous region

Autonomous region (自治区; zìzhìqū)— A minority subject which has a higher population of a particular minority ethnic group along with its own local government, but an autonomous region theoretically has more legislative rights than in actual practice. The governor of the Autonomous Regions is usually appointed from the respective minority ethnic group.

List of Provinces

GB[5]	ISO №[6]	Province	Chinese Name	Capital	Population¹	Density²	Area³	Abbreviation
BJ	11	Beijing Municipality	北京市 Běijīng Shì	Beijing	19,612,368	1,167.40	16,800	京 Jīng
TJ	12	Tianjin Municipality	天津市 Tiānjīn Shì	Tianjin	12,938,224	1,144.46	11,305	津 Jīn
HE	13	Hebei Province	河北省 Héběi Shěng	Shijiazhuang	71,854,202	382.81	187,700	冀 Jì
SX	14	Shanxi Province	山西省 Shānxī Shěng	Taiyuan	35,712,111	228.48	156,300	晋 Jìn
NM	15	Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Nei Mongol Autonomous Region	內蒙古自治区 Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū	Hohhot	24,706,321	20.88	1,183,000	蒙 Měng
LN	21	Liaoning Province	辽宁省 Liáoníng Shěng	Shenyang	43,746,323	299.83	145,900	辽 Liáo
JL	22	Jilin Province	吉林省 Jílín Shěng	Changchun	27,462,297	146.54	187,400	吉 Jí
HL	23	Heilongjiang Province	黑龙江省 Hēilóngjiāng	Harbin	38,312,224	84.38	454,000	黑 Hēi
SH	31	Shanghai Municipality	上海市 Shànghǎi Shì	Shanghai	23,019,148	3,630.20	6,341	沪 Hù
JS	32	Jiangsu Province	江苏省 Jiāngsū Shěng	Nanjing	78,659,903	766.66	102,600	苏 Sū
ZJ	33	Zhejiang Province	浙江省 Zhèjiāng Shěng	Hangzhou	54,426,891	533.59	102,000	浙 Zhè
AH	34	Anhui Province	安徽省 Ānhuī Shěng	Hefei	59,500,510	425.91	139,700	皖 Wǎn
FJ	35	Fujian Province	福建省 Fújiàn Shěng	Fuzhou	36,894,216	304.15	121,300	闽 Mǐn
JX	36	Jiangxi Province	江西省 Jiāngxī Shěng	Nanchang	44,567,475	266.87	167,000	赣 Gàn
SD	37	Shandong Province	山东省 Shāndōng Shěng	Jinan	95,793,065	622.84	153,800	鲁 Lǔ
HA	41	Henan Province	河南省 Hénán Shěng	Zhengzhou	94,023,567	563.01	167,000	豫 Yù
HB	42	Hubei Province	湖北省 Húběi Shěng	Wuhan	57,237,740	307.89	185,900	鄂 È
HN	43	Hunan Province	湖南省 Húnán Shěng	Changsha	65,683,722	312.77	210,000	湘 Xiāng
GD	44	Guangdong Province	广东省 Guǎngdōng Shěng	Guangzhou	104,303,132	579.46	180,000	粤 Yuè
GX	45	Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region	广西壮族自治区 Guǎngxī Zhuàngzú Zìzhìqū	Nanning	46,026,629	195.02	236,000	桂 Guì
HI	46	Hainan Province	海南省 Hǎinán Shěng	Haikou	8,671,518	255.04	34,000	琼 Qióng
CQ	50	Chongqing Municipality	重庆市 Chóngqìng Shì	Chongqing	28,846,170	350.50	82,300	渝 Yú
SC	51	Sichuan Province	四川省 Sìchuān Shěng	Chengdu	80,418,200	165.81	485,000	川 Chuān
GZ	52	Guizhou Province	贵州省 Gùizhōu Shěng	Guiyang	34,746,468	197.42	176,000	黔 Qián
YN	53	Yunnan Province	云南省 Yúnnán Shěng	Kunming	45,966,239	116.66	394,000	滇 Diān
XZ	54	Tibet Autonomous Region Xizang Autonomous Region	西藏自治区 Xīzàng Zìzhìqū	Lhasa	3,002,166	2.44	1,228,400	藏 Zàng
SN	61	Shaanxi Province	陕西省 Shǎnxī Shěng	Xi'an	37,327,378	181.55	205,600	陕 Shǎn
GS	62	Gansu Province	甘肃省 Gānsù Shěng	Lanzhou	25,575,254	56.29	454,300	甘 Gān
QH	63	Qinghai Province	青海省 Qīnghǎi Shěng	Xining	5,626,722	7.80	721,200	青 Qīng
NX	64	Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region	宁夏回族自治区 Níngxià Huízú Zìzhìqū	Yinchuan	6,301,350	94.89	66,400	宁 Níng
XJ	65	Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region	新疆维吾尔自治区 Xīnjiāng Wéiwú'ěr Zìzhìqū	Ürümqi	21,813,334	13.13	1,660,400	新 Xīn
HK	91	Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Xianggang Special Administrative Region	香港特别行政区 Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū	Hong Kong	7,061,200	6,396.01	1,104	港 Gǎng
MC	92	Macau Special Administrative Region Aomen Special Administrative Region	澳门特别行政区 Àomén Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū	Macau	552,300	19,044.82	29	澳 Ào
TW	71	Taiwan Province †	台湾省 Táiwān Shěng	Taibei	23,140,000	650.34	35,581	台 Tái

Notes:

¹: as of 2010

²: per km²

³: km²

†: Since its founding in 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has considered Taiwan to be its 23rd province. However, the PRC has never controlled Taiwan. The Republic of China (ROC, "Taiwan") currently administers Taiwan which it governs as part of Taiwan Area, consisting of Taiwan island, Penghu, as well as Kinmen and Matsu located off the coast of mainland Fujian Province, Republic of China.

Map

History

The rulers of China first set up provinces - initially 10 in number - during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). By the time of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty in 1644 there were 18 provinces, all of them in China proper. These were:

Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guangxi Guizhou Henan Hubei Hunan

Jiangsu Jiangxi Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang Zhili

Each province had a xunfu (巡撫; translated as "governor"), a political overseer on behalf of the emperor, and a tidu (提督; translated as "Captain General"), a military governor. In addition, there was a zongdu (總督), a general military inspector or governor general, for every two to three provinces.

Outer regions of China (those beyond China proper) were not divided into provinces. Military leaders or generals (將軍) oversaw Manchuria (consisting of Fengtian (now Liaoning), Jilin, Heilongjiang), Xinjiang, and Mongolia, while vice-dutong (副都統) and civilian leaders headed the leagues (盟長), a subdivision of Mongolia. The ambans (驻藏大臣) supervised the administration of Tibet.

In 1884 Xinjiang became a province; in 1907 Fengtian, Jilin, and Heilongjiang were made provinces as well. Taiwan became a province in 1885, but China ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895. As a result, there were 22 provinces in China (Outer China and China proper) near the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The Republic of China, established in 1912, set up 4 more provinces in Inner Mongolia and 2 provinces in historic Tibet, bringing the total to 28. But China lost four provinces with the establishment of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. After the defeat of Japan in World War II in 1945, China re-incorporated Manchuria as 10 provinces, and assumed control of Taiwan as a province. As a result, the Republic of China in 1946 had 35 provinces. Although the Republic of China now only controls one province, (Taiwan), and some islands of a second province (Fujian), it continues to formally claim all 35 provinces.

List of former Provinces

The People's Republic of China abolished many of the provinces in the 1950s and converted a number of them into autonomous regions. Hainan became a separate province in 1988, bringing the total number of provinces under PRC control to 22.

Economy

The provinces in south coastal area of China - such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and, (mainly) Guangdong - tend to be more industrialized, while regions in the hinterland are less developed.

References

See also

• Chinese federalism
• List of China administrative divisions by population
• Regional discrimination in China
• Taiwan Province
• Tiao-kuai
• Zhou (country subdivision)
• Yangtze River Delta

Provincial level divisions of the People's Republic of China Provinces Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang Autonomous regions Guangxi Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) Ningxia Tibet (Xizang) Xinjiang Municipalities Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong Macau Territorial disputes Paracel, Spratly, Zhongsha Islands (see Paracels, Spratlys, & Zhongsha Iss. Authority) Pratas Islands Senkaku Islands South Tibet Taiwan, Quemoy & Matsu (see Legal status of Taiwan)

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External links

• Interactive WebMap with economic indicators over all provinces