Provinces of China

Province 省 Shěng
Category	Unitary State
Location	People's Republic of China
Number	23
Populations	5,626,722 (Qinghai) – 104,303,132 (Guangdong)
Areas	13,700 square miles (35,000 km2) (Hainan) – 280,000 square miles (730,000 km2) (Qinghai)
Government	Dual-Party Government
Subdivisions	Sub-provincial city, Prefecture

Provinces (Chinese: 省; pinyin: Shěng), formally province-level administrative divisions (Chinese: 省级行政区; pinyin: Shěng Jí Xíngzhèngqū) are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 34 such divisions, classified as 23 provinces (including Taiwan Province, which is considered one of its province by the People's Republic of China^[1] and a division of the Republic of China but in total different definition respectively ^[2]), 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous regions and 2 Special Administrative Regions.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims sovereignty over the territory administered by Taiwan (ROC), claiming most of it as its Taiwan Province. The ROC also administers some offshore islands which form Fujian Province, ROC. These were part of an originally unified Fujian province, which since the stalemate of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 has been divided between the PRC and ROC.

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 effective charge of the province, rather than the nominal governor of the provincial government.

Types of province-level divisions

Direct-controlled municipality

Direct-controlled municipality (Chinese: 直辖市; pinyin: 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 is higher than common provinces.

Province

Province (Chinese: 省; pinyin: shěng): A provincial committee, headed by a secretary, nominally leads each standard provincial government. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province; second-in-command comes 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").

Autonomous region

Autonomous region (simplified Chinese: 自治区; traditional Chinese: 自治區; pinyin: 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.

Special administrative region (SAR)

Special administrative region (SAR) (simplified Chinese: 特别行政区; traditional Chinese: 特別行政區; pinyin: tèbié xíngzhèngqū): 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^[3][4][5] 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.

List of province-level divisions

Notes:

¹: as of 2010

²: per km²

³: km²

°: Abbreviation/Symbol in the parentheses are informal

*: 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, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu

History

Map of the PRC in 1949.

Map comparing administrative divisions as drawn by the PRC and ROC.

Administrative divisions of the Republic of China (1912–49). Note: this map depicts the theoretical administrative divisions of the Republic of China, which are not synchronized with the actual administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China. The ROC controls Taiwan and nearby islands while the PRC controls Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

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:

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 four more provinces in Inner Mongolia and two 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

      abolished       claimed

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.

Economies

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

See also

• Chinese federalism
• List of China administrative divisions by population
• List of provincial leaders of the People's Republic of China
• Regional discrimination in China
• Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China
• Tiao-kuai
• Yangtze River Delta
• Zhou (country subdivision)

References

External links

• Interactive Dbresearch.com: WebMap — with economic indicators for all Chinese Provinces.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Provinces of China.

Provincial level divisions of the People's Republic of China Provinces¹ 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 Ningxia Tibet Xinjiang Municipalities Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin Special administrative regions Hong Kong Macau Note: 1. Taiwan is claimed as a province, but is administered by the Republic of China (see Political status of Taiwan).