The term ''district'', in the context 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 ...

, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. In the modern context, district ( zh, s=区, labels=no), formally city-governed district, city-controlled district, or municipal district ( zh, s=市辖区, links=no, labels=no), are subdivisions of a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

or a

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 ...

. The rank of a district derives from the rank of its city. Districts of a municipality are prefecture-level; districts of a

sub-provincial city 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 ...

are sub-prefecture-level; and districts of a prefecture-level city are county-level. The term was also formerly used to refer to obsolete county-controlled districts (also known as district public office). However, if the word ''district'' is encountered in the context of ancient

Chinese history The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

, then it is a translation for ''xian'', another type of administrative division in China. Before the 1980s, cities in

were administrative divisions containing mostly urban, built-up areas, with very little farmland, except for the immediate

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s in order to ensure a large supply of food or raw materials. As a result, districts were also mostly urban or suburban in nature. After the 1980s,

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 ...

began to be replaced with prefecture-level cities. From then on, "cities" in mainland China became just like any other administrative division, containing urban areas, towns, villages, and farmland. These cities are subdivided into districts,

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

autonomous counties Autonomous counties () and autonomous banners () are county-level autonomous administrative divisions of China. Autonomous counties tend to have a large number of ethnic minority citizens compared to ordinary counties (if not an outright major ...

, and

county-level cities , map = , category = Third level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = People's Republic of China , upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces , start_date = , current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed) , number_da ...

. At the same time, counties and county-level cities began to be replaced with districts, especially after 1990. From then onwards, districts were no longer strictly urban entities—some districts today are just like counties, with large

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and townships under them governing rural areas.

Types of districts

Regular districts

A regular district under a

Ethnic districts

A type of city districts that are specially created for

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

. Currently there are five such "ethnic districts": three in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

, one in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

, and one in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

. * Chanhe Hui District *

Guancheng Hui District Guancheng District (), or Guancheng Hui District (; Xiao'erjing: ), is one of 6 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, China. History The ancient Shang Dynasty city of existed within the loca ...

* Shunhe Hui District *

Meilisi Daur District Meilisi Daur District () is an outlying district of the city of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, China. Area: Population: Post Code: 161021 Administrative divisions Meilisi Daur District is divided into 1 subdistrict, 4 towns, 1 ethnic town ...

* Huimin District (the term ''Huimin'' refers to the

Hui people The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Islam in China, Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the Northwest China, northwestern provinces and in the Zhongy ...

)

Special district

One county-level special district, located in

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

. *

Liuzhi Special District Liuzhi Special District () is a district of Guizhou, China. It was known as Langdai County before 1960. The county is under the administration of Liupanshui city, located in the western part of Guizhou Province. It is bounded by Zhijing and Nayong ...

, Liupanshui

Forestry district

One special sub-prefectural-level forestry district, located in

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

. *

Shennongjia Shennongjia Forestry District ( zh, s=神农架林区, p=Shénnóngjià Línqū) is a county-level administrative unit (a "forestry district") in northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, directly subordinated to the provincial gover ...

Ten most populous districts

Number of districts per city

County-controlled districts (obsolete)

A county-controlled district, sometimes translated as county-governed district; county district; or sub-county ( zh, s=县辖区，区, p=Xiànxiáqū, Qū, links=no) is a sub-county in China. A branch of a county government, a district public office ( zh, s=区公所, p=Qū gōngsuǒ, links=no) is the administrative office in a district; it is not a

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. A county-controlled district was once an important subdivision of a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

all over China from the 1950s to 1990s. It was common for there to be about five to ten districts in a county, then about three to five towns and townships in a district. After the 1990s, county-controlled districts began to be phased out, and their role was taken over by larger

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s or townships created by merging smaller ones. At the end of 2014, there was just one county-controlled district left in China: * Nanshan District (Zhuolu County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei) (See

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 ...

for how these two types of districts fit into the general administrative hierarchy of mainland China.)

Ancient sense

If the word "district" is encountered in the context of ancient

, then the word is a translation for ''xian'', another type of administrative division in China. ''Xian'' has been translated using several English terms. In the context of ancient history, "district" and "prefecture" are commonly used, while "county" is used for more contemporary contexts. (See

Counties of China Counties ( zh, s=县, labels=no) are found in the County-level divisions of China, third level of the administrative hierarchy in Provinces of China, provinces and Autonomous regions of China, autonomous regions and the second level in Direct-c ...

for more information on the ''xian'' of China.)

Notes

References

{{Authority control County-level divisions of the People's Republic of China