Provinces of China

Provincial division 省份 Shěngfèn
Category	Unitary State
Location	People's Republic of China (PRC)
Number	34 (33 controlled by PRC & 1 controlled by ROC)
Populations	552,300 (Macau) – 104,303,132 (Guangdong)
Areas	31 km2 (12 sq mi) (Macau) – 730,000 km2 (280,000 sq mi) (Qinghai)
Government	Dual-Party Government SARs: 1 country, 2 systems
Subdivisions	Sub-provincial city, Prefecture

Provinces (Chinese: 省; pinyin: Shěng), formally provincial-level administrative divisions (Chinese: 省级行政区; pinyin: Shěng Jí Xíngzhèngqū) or first-level administrative divisions (Chinese: 一级行政区; pinyin: Yī Jí Xíngzhèngqū), are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 33 such divisions, classified as 22 provinces (not including Taiwan, which is claimed but not actually controlled by the People's Republic of China^[1]), four municipalities, five autonomous regions, and two Special Administrative Regions.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims sovereignty over the territory administered by the Republic of China (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.

Note that every province (except Hong Kong and Macau, the two special administrative regions) has a Communist Party of China provincial committee (Chinese: 省委; pinyin: shěng wěi), headed by a secretary (Chinese: 书记; pinyin: shūjì). The committee secretary is in effective charge of the province, rather than the nominal governor of the provincial government.

Province

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.

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").

Other types of province-level divisions

Municipality

A municipality (Chinese: 直辖市; pinyin: zhíxiáshì) or direct-controlled municipality is 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 that of common provinces.

Autonomous region

An autonomous region (simplified Chinese: 自治区; traditional Chinese: 自治區; pinyin: zìzhìqū) is 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 each autonomous region is usually appointed from the respective minority ethnic group.

Special administrative region (SAR)

A special administrative region (SAR) (simplified Chinese: 特别行政区; traditional Chinese: 特別行政區; pinyin: tèbié xíngzhèngqū) is a highly autonomous and self-governing sub national subject of the People's Republic of China that is directly under the Central People's Government. Each SAR has a 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

GB/T 2260-2002[2]	ISO[3]	Province	Chinese Hanyu Pinyin	Capital	Population[lower-alpha 1]	Density[lower-alpha 2]	Area[lower-alpha 3]	Abbreviation[lower-alpha 4]
BJ	CN-11	Beijing Municipality	北京市 Běijīng Shì	Beijing	19,612,368	1,167.40	16,800	京 Jīng
TJ	CN-12	Tianjin Municipality	天津市 Tiānjīn Shì	Tianjin	12,938,224	1,144.46	11,305	津 Jīn
HE	CN-13	Hebei Province	河北省 Héběi Shěng	Shijiazhuang	71,854,202	382.81	187,700	冀 Jì
SX	CN-14	Shanxi Province	山西省 Shānxī Shěng	Taiyuan	35,712,111	228.48	156,300	晋 Jìn
NM	CN-15	Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region	內蒙古自治区 Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū	Hohhot	24,706,321	20.88	1,183,000	內蒙古(蒙) Nèi Měnggǔ (Měng)
LN	CN-21	Liaoning Province	辽宁省 Liáoníng Shěng	Shenyang	43,746,323	299.83	145,900	辽 Liáo
JL	CN-22	Jilin Province	吉林省 Jílín Shěng	Changchun	27,462,297	146.54	187,400	吉 Jí
HL	CN-23	Heilongjiang Province	黑龙江省 Hēilóngjiāng Shěng	Harbin	38,312,224	84.38	454,000	黑 Hēi
SH	CN-31	Shanghai Municipality	上海市 Shànghǎi Shì	Shanghai	23,019,148	3,630.20	6,341	沪 Hù
JS	CN-32	Jiangsu Province	江苏省 Jiāngsū Shěng	Nanjing	78,659,903	766.66	102,600	苏 Sū
ZJ	CN-33	Zhejiang Province	浙江省 Zhèjiāng Shěng	Hangzhou	54,426,891	533.59	102,000	浙 Zhè
AH	CN-34	Anhui Province	安徽省 Ānhuī Shěng	Hefei	59,500,510	425.91	139,700	皖 Wǎn
FJ	CN-35	Fujian Province	福建省 Fújiàn Shěng	Fuzhou	36,894,216	304.15	121,300	闽 Mǐn
JX	CN-36	Jiangxi Province	江西省 Jiāngxī Shěng	Nanchang	44,567,475	266.87	167,000	赣 Gàn
SD	CN-37	Shandong Province	山东省 Shāndōng Shěng	Jinan	95,793,065	622.84	153,800	鲁 Lǔ
HA	CN-41	Henan Province	河南省 Hénán Shěng	Zhengzhou	94,023,567	563.01	167,000	豫 Yù
HB	CN-42	Hubei Province	湖北省 Húběi Shěng	Wuhan	57,237,740	307.89	185,900	鄂 È
HN	CN-43	Hunan Province	湖南省 Húnán Shěng	Changsha	65,683,722	312.77	210,000	湘 Xiāng
GD	CN-44	Guangdong Province	广东省 Guǎngdōng Shěng	Guangzhou	104,303,132	579.46	180,000	粤 Yuè
GX	CN-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	CN-46	Hainan Province	海南省 Hǎinán Shěng	Haikou	9,171,300[4]	255.04	34,000	琼 Qióng
CQ	CN-50	Chongqing Municipality	重庆市 Chóngqìng Shì	Chongqing	28,846,170	350.50	82,300	渝 Yú
SC	CN-51	Sichuan Province	四川省 Sìchuān Shěng	Chengdu	80,418,200	165.81	485,000	川(蜀) Chuān (Shǔ)
GZ	CN-52	Guizhou Province	贵州省 Guìzhōu Shěng	Guiyang	34,746,468	197.42	176,000	贵(黔) Guì (Qián)
YN	CN-53	Yunnan Province	云南省 Yúnnán Shěng	Kunming	45,966,239	116.66	394,000	云(滇) Yún (Diān)
XZ	CN-54	Tibet Autonomous Region	西藏自治区 Xīzàng Zìzhìqū	Lhasa	3,002,166	2.44	1,228,400	藏 Zàng
SN	CN-61	Shaanxi Province	陕西省 Shǎnxī Shěng	Xi'an	37,327,378	181.55	205,600	陕(秦) Shǎn (Qín)
GS	CN-62	Gansu Province	甘肃省 Gānsù Shěng	Lanzhou	25,575,254	56.29	454,300	甘(陇) Gān (Lǒng)
QH	CN-63	Qinghai Province	青海省 Qīnghǎi Shěng	Xining	5,626,722	7.80	721,200	青 Qīng
NX	CN-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	CN-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
TW	CN-71[lower-alpha 5]	Taiwan Province[lower-alpha 6]	台湾省 Táiwān Shěng	Taipei	—	—	—	台 Tái
HK	CN-91[lower-alpha 7]	Hong Kong 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
MO	CN-92[lower-alpha 8]	Macau Special Administrative Region	澳门特别行政区 Àomén Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū	Macau	552,300	19,044.82	29	澳 Ào

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.

Yuan provinces

The rulers of China first set up provinces—initially 10 in number—during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) with the addition of the Central Region ruled by the Zhongshu Sheng (中書省) and the Tibetan Plateau ruled by the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (宣政院).

Ming provinces

The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) kept the province system set up by the Yuan Dynasty, however, it divided the original 10 provinces into 16 provinces.

Qing provinces

By the time of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) in 1644 there were 18 provinces, all of them in China proper.

New provinces

• Xinjiang (新疆省) 1884–1912
• Fengtian (奉天省) 1907–1912
• Jilin (吉林省) 1907–1912
• Heilongjiang (黑龍江省) 1907–1912
• Taiwan (台灣省) 1885–1895

Each province had a xunfu (巡撫; xúnfǔ; translated as "governor"), a political overseer on behalf of the emperor, and a tidu (提督; tídū; translated as "captain general"), a military governor. In addition, there was a zongdu (總督; zǒngdū), 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; jiāngjūn) oversaw Manchuria (consisting of Fengtian (now Liaoning), Jilin, Heilongjiang), Xinjiang, and Mongolia, while vice-dutong (副都統; fù dūtǒng) and civilian leaders headed the leagues (盟長; méng zhǎng), a subdivision of Mongolia. The ambans (駐藏大臣; zhù cáng dàchén) 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.

ROC provinces (1912–1949)

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. In 1931, Ma Zhongying established Hexi in the northern parts of Gansu but the ROC never acknowledged the province. 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 (including those that no longer form part of the area of the People's Republic of China).

Other province-level divisions

List of PRC province-level divisions

  abolished   claimed

Greater administrative areas

Provinces

Autonomous regions

Municipalities

Special administrative regions

Administrative territories

Regions

Territories

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 Chinese administrative divisions by GDP
• 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Provinces of China.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for List of Chinese provinces and regions.

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