All
provincial-level divisions of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
are divided into
prefectural-level divisions (second-level):
prefectural-level cities,
prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
,
autonomous prefecture
Autonomous prefectures ( zh, c=自治州, p=zìzhìzhōu) are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, autonomous administrative division in China, existing at the Prefecture-level divisions of China, prefectural level, with eith ...
s and
leagues. There are 339 official prefecture level divisions in China as of January 2019: 333 under the control of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and 6 in the claimed
Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...
.
Number of prefectures in each province
; Note:
* () not shown in the list below
* [] special divisions
List
; Note:
* Municipalities (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, & Tianjin) are not included but their internal divisions are similar as those of prefectures.
* Sub-prefecture-level cities are excluded.
* Sub-provincial cities are included, but other types of
sub-provincial division
Strictly speaking, China's legal system neither recognizes the concept of "sub-provincial administrative divisions" () or "sub-provincial cities" () nor provides specific legislation for such designations, and these categories are absent from off ...
s are not.
* The six prefectures of
Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...
are not listed.
*
* Indicates capital of province.
* Bold Sub-provincial city or above.
Dissolved prefectures
Anhui
Chahar (1949–1952)
Fujian
Hebei
Heilongjiang
Inner Mongolia
Jiangsu
Jiangxi
Jilin
Liaodong (1949–1954)
Liaoning
Rehe (1949–1955)
Shandong
Shanxi
Songjiang (1949–1954)
Suiyuan (1949–1954)
Zhejiang
See also
*
Prefectures of China
zh, p=Dìqū, labels=no
, alt_name =
, map =
, category = Second level administrative division of a unitary state
, territory = China
, start_date =
, current_number = 7 prefectures
...
*
Administrative divisions of China
The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since 1412, due to mainland China's large population and geographical area. In the People's Republic of China, the constitution provides for three levels of government. H ...
*
Sub-provincial divisions in China
*
Prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...
*
Provincial city
*
List of top Chinese cities by GDP
*
List of top Chinese cities by GDP per capita
As one of the types of administrative divisions in China, cities includes three categories: municipalities, prefecture-level cities, and county-level cities. In addition, China's two special administrative regions are highly urbanized and comme ...
*
List of prefecture-level divisions of China by GDP
The following article lists all prefecture-level divisions of China, including Prefecture-level cities, Autonomous prefectures and prefectures, by GDP and GDP per capita.
List
; Notes:
* Municipalities (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, & Tia ...
*
List of cities in China by population
As of 2023, the five largest cities in China by population are Chongqing (31.91 million), Shanghai (24.87 million), Beijing (21.86 million), Chengdu (21.403 million) and Guangzhou (18.827 million). As of 2024, there are 18 megacities (cities wit ...
*
List of cities in China
According to the administrative divisions of China, administrative divisions of the China, People's Republic of China, there are three levels of cities: provincial-level cities (consisting of Direct-administered municipalities of China, dir ...
*
List of twin towns and sister cities in China
This is a list of places in China which have standing links to local communities in other countries known as "Sister city, town twinning" (usually in Europe) or "sister cities" (usually in the rest of the world).
A
Anguo
* Dongdaemun Distri ...
*
List of capitals in China
The scope of this list is limited to capital cities of first-level administrative divisions such as provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and special administrative regions, also including sub-provincial cities which are governed ...
*
Sub-provincial divisions in Mainland China
*
List of urban agglomerations in China
As of 2023, the five largest cities in China by population are Chongqing (31.91 million), Shanghai (24.87 million), Beijing (21.86 million), Chengdu (21.403 million) and Guangzhou (18.827 million). As of 2024, there are 18 megacities (cities with ...
*
Global city
A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...
Notes
{{NoteFoot
, notes =
{{NoteTag, A combination of 4 former prefectures:Chongqing, Fuling, Wanxian (now Wanzhou) and Qianjiang, all of them belonged to Sichuan Province., name=CQ
{{NoteTag, Ili (itself a prefecture with sub-provincial status) contains 2 other prefectures: Tacheng and Altay. Ili also directly controls 2 county-level cities, 7 counties, and 1 autonomous county, like a normal prefecture does. Tacheng and Altay is counted in Xinjiang's total number of prefectures here., name=IL
{{NoteTag, Currently China has 2 provincial-level
special administrative regions:
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
. Although both of them are not divided into prefectural-level divisions within PRC laws both regions does have a third-level division system (
Districts of Hong Kong
Hong Kong is administratively divided into 18 districts. Each district has a district councils of Hong Kong, district council.
District councils was formerly called district boards, for which the boards were established in 1982,[Parishes of Macau
By the end of Portuguese Macau, Portuguese rule, Macau was administratively divided into two municipalities: Municipality of Macau, Macau and Municipality of Ilhas, Ilhas, and seven civil parishes (). Parishes were administrative subdivisions ...]
). Parishes in Macau are purely symbolic entries, it no longer has any legal status., name=SAR
{{NoteTag, As
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
is currently administered by the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, its
administrative divisions
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
differ from those in provinces administered by the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
PRC once treated the claimed official borders and divisions of the Taiwan Province of People's Republic of China as a mirror of those of the ROC Taiwan Province before 1949, and displayed them on maps as such. However, as of 2018, PRC official map service
Tianditu treats all six
special municipalities as prefecture-level cities, all three provincial cities as county-level cities directly administered by the province, and all fourteen county-administered cities as subdistricts under each individual county's jurisdiction., name=TW
.
Prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
China 2