Sub-provincial divisions in the People's Republic of China

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

History of the political divisions of China

A sub-provincial divisions (simplified Chinese: 副省级行政区; traditional Chinese: 副省級行政區; pinyin: fùshĕngjí chéngshì) (or deputy-provincial divisions) in the People's Republic of China, is like a prefecture-level city that is ruled by a province, but is administered independently in regard to economy and law.

Sub-provincial divisions, similar to prefectural-level divisions, an administrative unit comprising, typically, a main central urban area, and its much larger surrounding rural area containing many smaller cities, towns and villages.

The mayor or chairman of a sub-provincial division is equal in status to a vice-governor of a province. Its status is below that of municipalities, which are independent and equivalent to provinces, but above other, regular prefecture-level divisions, which are completely ruled by their provinces.

Contents

Map of sub-provincial level entries in the People's Republic of China

Map of Sub-provincial level entries in the People's Republic of China

Sub-provincial city

The original 15 sub-provincial cities were created on February 25, 1994 by the Central Organization Committee out of prefecture-level cities. They are sometimes the capitals of the provinces in which they are located.

Currently, there are 15 sub-provincial cities:[1]

Sub-provincial cities of the People's Republic of China[2]
Division name Hanzi (S) Hanyu Pinyin Province Region Population Area (km²) Density (/km²)
Changchun 长春市 Chángchūn Jilin Northeast 7,677,089 20,532 368.4
Chengdu 成都市 Chéngdū Sichuan Southwest 14,047,625 12,390 1038.4
Dalian 大连市 Dàlián Liaoning Northeast 6,690,432 13,237 466.1
Guangzhou 广州市 Guǎngzhōu Guangdong South Central 12,700,800 7,434.4 1,390.1
Hangzhou 杭州市 Hángzhōu Zhejiang East 8,700,400 16,847 480.8
Harbin 哈尔滨市 Hāěrbīn Heilongjiang Northeast 10,635,971 53,791 184.4
Jinan 济南市 Jǐnán Shandong East 6,814,000 8,177 737.8
Nanjing 南京市 Nánjīng Jiangsu East 8,001,680 6,598 1,169
Ningbo 宁波市 Níngbō Zhejiang East 7,605,689 9,365 609.7
Qingdao 青岛市 Qīngdǎo Shandong East 8,715,100 10,654 716.1
Shenyang 沈阳市 Shěnyáng Liaoning Northeast 8,106,171 12,924 608.2
Shenzhen 深圳市 Shēnzhèn Guangdong South Central 10,357,938 2,050 4,347.5
Wuhan 武汉市 Wǔhàn Hubei South Central 9,785,392 8,467.11 1,074.7
Xiamen 厦门市 Xiàmén Fujian East 3,531,347 1,565 1610.2
Xi'an 西安市 Xī'ān Shaanxi Northwest 8,467,837 9,983 844.9

Chongqing was formerly a sub-provincial city of Sichuan until 1997, when it was made a municipality by splitting it out of Sichuan altogether. Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps also has the powers of a sub-provincial city.

Guangzhou, Harbin and Chengdu are the largest sub-provincial cities; each has a population exceeding that of the independent municipality of Tianjin while, both Harbin and Chengdu have a bigger area then Tianjin.

Proposed Sub-provincial cities

Sub-provincial new areas

Additionally, the head of Pudong New Area of Shanghai and Binhai New Area of Tianjin, which is a county-level district, is given sub-provincial powers.

Sub-provincial districts of the People's Republic of China[3]
Division name Hanzi (S) Hanyu Pinyin Municipality Region Population Area (km²) Density (/km²)
Binhai New Area 滨海新区 Bīnhǎi Xīn Qū Tianjin North 2,482,065 2,270 440.5
Pudong New Area 浦东新区 Pǔdōng Xīn Qū Shanghai East 5,044,430 1,210.4 2,633.3

Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture

Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China[4]
Division name Hanzi (S) Hanyu Pinyin Province Region Population Area (km²) Density (/km²)
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture 伊犁哈萨克自治州 Yīlí Hāsàkè Zìzhìzhōu Xinjiang Northwest 4,305,119 268,778.71 16.15

Sub-provincial Municipal Conference

The National Standing Committee of Sub-provincial Municipal People's Congresses' Chairmen Joint Conference (全国副省级城市人大常委会主任联席会议) are attended by the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of all sub-provincial cities. It was proposed by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress in 1985. The conferences:

  1. Guangzhou (26 February – 4 March 1985)
  2. Harbin (27 - 31 August 1985)
  3. Wuhan (20 - 24 May 1986)
  4. Dalian (10 - 14 August 1987)
  5. Xi'an (9 - 13 September 1988)
  6. Shenyang (13 - 17 August 1990)
  7. Chongqing (22 - 26 November 1991)
  8. Qingdao (3 - 7 May 1992)
  9. Shenzhen (25 - 28 October 1993)
  10. Nanjing (1 - 4 November 1994)
  11. Changchun (21- 24 May 1995)
  12. Hangzhou (20 - 24 October 1996)
  13. Jinan (19 - 25 October 1997)
  14. Xiamen (12 - 16 October 1998)
  15. Ningbo (17 - 20 October 1999)
  16. Chengdu (10 - 13 October 2000)
  17. Guangzhou (30 October - 3 November 2001)
  18. Harbin (23 - 26 July 2002)
  19. Wuhan (8 - 12 October 2003)
  20. Shenyang (31 August - 6 September 2004)
  21. Qingdao (6 - 8 September 2005)
  22. Shenzhen (20 - 23 October 2006)
  23. Dalian (14 - 16 August 2007)
  24. Xi'an (13 - 16 April 2009)
  25. Nanjing (18 - 20 October 2010)
  26. Changchun (22 - 25 August 2011)

References

  1. ^ For the list of the 15 cities, see e.g., "15个副省级城市中 哈尔滨市房价涨幅排列第五名" (in Chinese). 2008-05-07. http://hrb.focus.cn/news/2008-05-07/467397.html. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 
  2. ^ References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual municipality articles.
  3. ^ References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual municipality articles.
  4. ^ References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual municipality articles.