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 city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

, 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 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 ...

. 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 Jiyuan ( zh, s= , t=濟源 , p=Jìyuán) is a sub-prefecture-level city in northwestern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It borders the prefecture-level cities of Jiaozuo and Luoyang to the east and southwest respectively, as well as ...

(

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 ...

Province),

Xiantao Xiantao ( zh, s= , p=Xiāntáo) is a sub-prefecture-level city in the east of Hubei province, China. Located at the Jianghan Plain in the middle of Hubei province and spanning 112°55' – 113°49' east longitude and 30°04' – 30°32' north la ...

, Qianjiang and

Tianmen Tianmen () is a sub-prefecture-level city (sometimes considered a county-level city) in central Hubei Province, China. It is on the Jianghan Plain, on the west side of Wuhan (the biggest city of Central China, as well as the capital of Hubei) a ...

(

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 ...

Shihezi Shihezi is a sub-prefecture-level city in Northern Xinjiang, 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 the Project 211 in Xi ...

Tumxuk TumxukThe official spelling according to , (Beijing, ''SinoMaps Press'' 1997); is a county-level city in the western part of Xinjiang, China. The eastern part of Tumxuk is surrounded by Maralbexi County, Kashgar Prefecture. The smaller western ...

Aral Aral may refer to: People * Cahit Aral (1927–2011), Turkish engineer, politician and former government minister * Coşkun Aral (born 1956), Turkish photo journalist and war correspondent * Göran Aral (born 1953), Swedish footballer * Meriç Ara ...

, and

Wujiaqu Wujiaqu is a county-level city in the northern part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, about north of Ürümqi. Wujiaqu is the headquarter of the 6th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and currently administered b ...

(

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

). 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 P ...

( Haixi,

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

Manzhouli Manzhouli ( zh, s=满洲里; ; ) is a sub-prefectural city located in Hulunbuir prefecture-level city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Located on the border with Russia, it is a major land port of entry. It has an area of and a populat ...

(

Hulunbuir Hulunbuir or Hulun Buir, ''Hūlúnbèi'ěr''; , ''Khulunbuir'' is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Its administrative center is located at Hailar District, its largest urban area. Major scenic features are the high ...

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. ...

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 2020 census, Gaozhou had a population of 1,328, ...

* Lufeng *

Luoding Luoding, is a county-level city in the northwestern part of Guangdong province (粤北), South China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Yunfu. History As early as 10,000 years ago, there were ancient people inhabited w ...

Nanxiong Nanxiong (), historically Namyung, Namhung, and Nanhsiung, is a county-level city of northern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the north, east and southeast. It is under the administration of Guangdong Province. ...

Puning Puning ( zh, c=, p=Pǔníng, s=普宁, t=普寧; Teochew: Pou2 leng5), officially Puning City, is a county-level city located in Eastern Guangdong, China, under the administration of the city, Jieyang. Nevertheless, its administrative power in ec ...

Yangchun Yangchun, alternately romanized as Yeungchun, (local pronunciation: ">ɛŋ31 ʦʰɐn45/nowiki>) is a county-level city in southwestern Guangdong, China, administered as a part of the prefecture-level city of Yangjiang. Yangchun has an area ...

Yingde Yingde (Postal romanization, postal: Yingtak; ) is a historical city in the north of Guangdong Province, China. The city is on the Bei River, a tributary of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River. Administratively, it is part of the Qingyuan, Guan ...

Guizhou

Renhuai Renhuai () is a county-level city located in the north of Guizhou province, China, bordering Sichuan province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zunyi. The city is served by Zunyi Maotai Airport. Administr ...

Hainan

* Dongfang *

Qionghai Qionghai, also called Keng Hai, is a County-level city, county-level city in Hainan, China. It is located in the east of Hainan Island. Kachek city was the capital of Keng Hai. Kachek city was 2nd largest city in Hainan island. Previous counties ...

Wanning Wanning, or in local Hainanese dialect as Ban Ning, is a county-level city in the southeast of Hainan Province, China. Although called a "city", Wanning refers to both the county seat and to the entire county as a whole. The county-wide area ...

Wenchang Wenchang ( postal: Mencheong; ; Hainanese spellings: Boon Siou) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan Island in China. Covering an area of , the city has a coastline of , and is divided into 17 towns. The city is a major target for t ...

* Wuzhishan

Hebei

Dingzhou Dingzhou, or Tingchow in Postal Map Romanization, and formerly called Ding County or Dingxian, is a county-level city in the prefecture-level city of Baoding, Hebei, Hebei Province. As of 2020, Dingzhou had a population of 1.1 million. Dingzhou ...

Qian'an Qian'an may refer to the following locations in China: *Qian'an, Hebei (迁安市), county-level city of Tangshan **Qian'an Town, Hebei (迁安镇) *Qian'an County Qian'an County () is a county in the northwest of Jilin province, China. It is und ...

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 eight towns () and seven townshi ...

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, Sui ...

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 provinc ...

Gongyi Gongyi (), formerly Gong County (), is a county-level city of Henan, Henan Province, South Central China, 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 a ...

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 feat ...

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 *

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 b ...

Inner Mongolia

Erenhot Erenhot ( ; zh, s=二连浩特, p=Èrliánhàotè, commonly shortened to Ereen or Erlian) is a county-level city under jurisdiction of the Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia, China, located in the Gobi Desert along the Sino-Mongolian border, ac ...

Jiangsu

Kunshan Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu Province, 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 Th ...

Taixing Taixing () is a county-level city under the administration of Taizhou, Jiangsu province, China. It is located in the Yangtze River Delta, bordering the prefecture-level cities of Nantong to the east, Changzhou to the southwest, and Zhenjiang to th ...

Jiangxi

* Fengcheng *

Gongqingcheng Gongqingcheng () is a sub-prefecture-level city in Jiangxi, People's Republic of China. It was established on 10 September 2010 in the jurisdiction of Jiujiang. It is located north of Nanchang, the provincial capital. On 1 July 2014, it was re- ...

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 commu ...

Jilin

Gongzhuling Gongzhuling () is a county-level city under the administration of Changchun. It is located in central Jilin province of Northeast China, halfway between Siping and Changchun, along the main railway line in the Northeast. Major employers in the ci ...

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

Qinghai

Shaanxi

Hancheng Hancheng () is a city in Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China, about 125 miles northeast of Xi'an, at the point where the south-flowing Yellow River enters the Guanzhong Plain. It is a renowned historic city, containing numerous historic ...

Xinjiang

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

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (新疆生产建设兵团; abbreviated as 新疆兵团, or XPCC in English), also known as ''Bingtuan'', trading with the external name China Xinjian Group, is a state-owned enterprise and parami ...

(XPCC or Bingtuan). *

* Baiyang * Beitun *

Huyanghe Huyanghe is a county-level city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is geographically located in Tacheng Prefecture of Northwestern Xinjiang, but is directly administered by the 7th Division of XPCC, which headquartered here. The cit ...

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 loc ...

* Kunyu *

Shuanghe Shuanghe is a county-level city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, 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 53,800. Shuanghe ...

* Tiemenguan *

* Xinxing

Zhejiang

Yiwu Yiwu () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua, in central Zhejiang province, China. It is best known for hosting the Yiwu International Trade City, the world’s largest wholesale market for small commodities. History Y ...

References

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