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 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, 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 suburbs 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 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, autonomous counties, and county-level cities. 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 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. Currently there are five such "ethnic districts": three in Henan, one in Heilongjiang, and one in Inner Mongolia. * Chanhe Hui District * Guancheng Hui District * Shunhe Hui District * Meilisi Daur District * Huimin District (the term ''Huimin'' refers to the Hui people)

Special district

One county-level special district, located in Guizhou. * Liuzhi Special District, 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

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 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 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 Chinese history, 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