A sub-prefectural municipality (), sub-prefectural city, or vice-prefectural municipality, is an unofficial designation for a type of administrative division of China. A sub-prefectural city is officially considered to be a

county-level city A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a Administrative divisions of China#County level (3rd), county-level administrative divi ...

, but it has more power ''de facto'' because the cadres assigned to its government are one half-level higher in rank than those of an "ordinary" county-level city—though still lower than those of a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

. While county-level cities are under the administrative jurisdiction of prefecture-level divisions, sub-prefectural cities are often (but not always) administered directly by the provincial government, with no intervening prefecture level administration. Examples of sub-prefectural cities that does not belong to any prefecture: Jiyuan (

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

Province), Xiantao, Qianjiang and Tianmen (

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

Shihezi Shihezi is a sub-prefecture-level city in Northern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has a population of 380,130 according to the 2010 census. The city is also home to Shihezi University, the second-largest comprehensive university under ...

, Tumxuk, Aral, and Wujiaqu (

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

). Examples of sub-prefectural cities that nevertheless belong to a prefecture:

Golmud Golmud, also known by various other romanizations, is a county-level city in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, China. It is now the second-largest city in Qinghai and the third largest in the Tibetan Pla ...

( Haixi,

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

), Manzhouli (

Hulunbuir Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir ( mn, , ''Kölün buyir'', Mongolian Cyrillic: Хөлөнбуйр, ''Khölönbuir''; zh, s=呼伦贝尔, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr'') is a region that is governed as a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. ...

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

List of sub-prefectural divisions

:Note: Bold not under any prefecture-level subordination

Guangdong

Gaozhou Gaozhou is a county-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province, China. Formerly the primary city in the area, it is now administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Maoming. As of the 20210 census, Gaozhou had a population of 1,328, ...

* Lufeng * Luoding * Nanxiong * Puning *

Yangchun Yangchun, alternately romanized as Yeungchun, is a county-level city in southwestern Guangdong, China, administered as a part of the prefecture-level city of Yangjiang. Yangchun has an area of and had approximately 1.05 million inhabitants in ...

* Yingde

Guizhou

* Renhuai

Hainan

* Dongfang * Qionghai * Wanning * Wenchang * Wuzhishan

Hebei

* Dingzhou * Qian'an *

Xinji Xinji () is a county-level city of Hebei Province, North China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang. It is the easternmost county-level division of Shijiangzhuang. There are 8 towns () and 7 townships () und ...

Heilongjiang

Suifenhe Suifenhe () is a county-level city in southeastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, located where the former Chinese Eastern Railway crosses the border with Russia's town of Pogranichny, Primorsky Krai. In January 2014, Suife ...

Henan

Dengzhou Dengzhou (), formerly Deng County (), is a city in Nanyang, Henan, China. It has an area of and a population of 1,500,000. The urban area is 35 km², and the urban population is 300,000. The city is located in the southwest of Henan provin ...

Gongyi Gongyi (), formerly Gong County (), is a county-level city of Henan Province, South Central China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. It has a population of 790,000 people and an area of . City Gongyi is lo ...

* Jiyuan *

Ruzhou Ruzhou () is a county-level city in the west-central part of Henan province, China, and is under the administration of Pingdingshan. It was called Linru County () until 1988. It has more than 100,000 inhabitants. The Fengxue Temple of Ruzhou featur ...

Yongcheng Yongcheng () is county-level city in Henan province, China, and is the easternmost county-level division of the province, bordering Anhui province on all sides except the northwest and due north. Yongcheng has significant coal deposits and some ins ...

Hubei

* Qianjiang * Tianmen * Xiantao

Hunan

Shaoshan Shaoshan () is a county-level city in Hunan Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xiangtan. Qingxi Town is its seat. Located on the mid-eastern Hunan and the mid-north of Xiangtan, Shaoshan is bordered by ...

Inner Mongolia

* Erenhot * Manzhouli

Jiangsu

Kunshan Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. Name There is a strong pos ...

* Taixing

Jiangxi

* Fengcheng * Gongqingcheng *

Ruijin Ruijin () is a county-level city of Ganzhou in the mountains bordering Fujian Province in the south-eastern part of Jiangxi Province. Formerly a county, Ruijin became a county-level city on May 18, 1994. It was an early center of Chinese commun ...

Jilin

* Gongzhuling *

Meihekou Meihekou () is a city of 600,000 in Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It is a regional transport hub, connecting three railway lines, all of which are single track, and 2 national highways. The city is also a major lorry transshipment po ...

Qinghai

Shaanxi

* Hancheng

Xinjiang

:Note: all cities are also under the subordination of the Prefecture-level

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (), also known as XPCC or Bingtuan ("The Corps"), is a state-owned economic and Paramilitary forces of China, paramilitary organization in China, China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). ...

(XPCC or Bingtuan). * Aral * Beitun *

Huyanghe Huyanghe () is a county-level city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is geographically located in Tacheng Prefecture Tacheng Prefecture is located in Northern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and a populati ...

Kokdala Kokdala or Cocodala is a city in northern Xinjiang, China, bordering Kazakhstan's Almaty Region to the west. Administratively, it is a county-level city under the direct administration of the regional government, though it is geographically locat ...

* Kunyu *

Shuanghe Shuanghe is a county-level city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is located east of Bole City and southwest of Alashankou and the border with Kazakhstan. Shuanghe governs an area of and has a population of ...

* Tiemenguan * Tumxuk * Wujiaqu * Xinxing

Zhejiang

* Yiwu

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sub-Prefectural City Administrative divisions of China *Sub County-level divisions of the People's Republic of China