{{Short description|Third-level administrative divisions of China}} {{More citations needed|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox subdivision type | name = County-level division<br>{{nobold|{{lang-zh|s=县级行政区|labels=no}}<br>{{lang-zh|p=Xiàn Jí Xíngzhèngqū|labels=no}}}} | alt_name = | map = [[File:China county-level divisions and administrative divisions (PRoC claim).png|330px]] [[File:中国各自治地区及其指定的少数民族 China's Autonomous Regions and its Designated Ethnic Minority.png|330px|China's Autonomous Regions and their Designated Ethnic Minority]] | caption = China's Autonomous Regions and their Designated Ethnic Minority | category = Third level [[administrative division]] of a [[unitary state]] | territory = {{PRC}} | start_date = | current_number = 2,842 county-level divisions including 172 in [[Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China|Taiwan Province]]{{efn|name=TW}} | number_date = 2023 | population_range = 6,567 ([[Zanda County|Zanda]]) – 14,047,625 ([[Pudong]]) | area_range = {{Convert|10|sqkm|abbr=on}} ([[Xisha District|Xisha]]) – {{Convert|124500|sqkm|abbr=on}} ([[Golmud]]) | government = Various, [[Provinces of China|provincial government]], [[Government of China|central government]] | subdivision = [[Townships of China|Townships]] }} {{Administrative levels and divisions of China sidebar}} {{Infobox Chinese|title=County-level divisions|collapse=yes|order=st|t=縣級行政區|s=县级行政区|p=Xiàn Jí Xíngzhèngqū}}
The [[China|People's Republic of China]] (PRC) is divided into 2,854 '''county-level divisions''' which rank below [[Prefecture-level divisions of China|prefectures]]/[[Province-level divisions of China|provinces]] and above [[Townships of China|townships]] as the third-level [[Administrative divisions of China|administrative division]] in the country. Of these, 2,842 are located in territory controlled by the PRC, while 172 are located in land controlled by the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] (ROC).{{efn|name=TW}}
There are six types of county-level divisions:
* 1,123 [[District (China)|districts]] (965 in [[mainland China]] and 158 in the claimed [[Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China|Taiwan Province]]){{efn|name=TW}} * 411 [[county-level city|county-level cities]] (408 in mainland China and 3 in Taiwan) * 1,319 [[Counties of China|counties]] (1,307 in mainland China and 12 controlled by the Republic of China) * 117 [[autonomous county|autonomous counties and banners]] * 1 [[Liuzhi Special District|special district]] * 1 [[Shennongjia Forestry District|forestry district]]
==History== ''Xian'' have existed since the [[Warring States period]] and were set up nationwide by the [[Qin dynasty]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hsu |first=Cho-yun |translator-last1=Baker |translator-first1=Timothy D. Jr. |translator-last2=Duke |translator-first2=Michael S. |year=2012 |orig-year=2006 |title=China: A New Cultural History |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=102 |isbn=9780231159203}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Goodman |editor-first=David S.G. |year=2015 |title=Handbook of the Politics of China |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing Limited |page=159 |isbn=9781782544364}}</ref> The number of counties in [[China proper]] gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As [[Qin Shi Huang]] reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern [[Han dynasty]], the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the [[Sui dynasty]] abolished the [[Commandery (China)|commandery]] level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. The current number of [[counties]] mostly resembled that of the later years of [[Qing dynasty]]. Changes of location and names of counties in [[History of China|Chinese history]] have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}
In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure;{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the [[county magistrate|magistrate]], who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases.
==Types== ===Counties=== One of the most common types of county-level divisions, counties have been continuously in existence since the [[Warring States period]], much earlier than any other level of government in China. ''Xian'' is often translated as "district" or "prefecture". The ruling [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) is central to directing government policy in mainland China, each level of administrative division has a local CCP committee. A county's CCP head is called the [[Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary|secretary]] ({{lang|zh-hans|中共县委书记}}), the ''de facto'' highest office of the county. Policies are carried out via the [[Central People's Government|people's government]] of the county, and its head is called the county governor ({{lang|zh-hans|县长}}). The governor is often also one of the deputy secretaries in the CCP Committee.
===County-level cities=== A county-level city is a "city" ({{zh|c=市|p=shì|labels=no}}) and "county" ({{zh|s=县|p=xiàn|labels=no}}) that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such, it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal entity, and a county, which is an administrative division of a prefecture. Most county-level cities were created in the 1980s and 1990s by replacing denser populated [[Counties of China|counties]]. Compared to counties, they have [[judiciary|judicial]] but no [[legislature|legislative]] rights over their own [[local ordinance|local law]] and are usually governed by [[Administrative divisions of China#Prefectural level (2nd)|prefecture-level divisions]], but a few are governed directly by [[Administrative divisions of China#Provincial level (1st)|province-level divisions]].
Because county-level cities are not "[[city|cities]]" in the strictest sense of the word, since they usually contain rural areas many times the size of their urban, built-up area. This is because the counties that county-level cities have replaced are themselves large administrative units containing [[Towns of China|towns]], [[Villages of China|villages]] and farmland. To distinguish a "county-level city" from its actual urban area (the traditional meaning of the word "city"), the term "{{lang|zh-hans|市区}}" (shìqū) or "urban area", is used.
===Districts=== District are subdivisions of a [[direct-administered municipalities of China|municipality]] or a [[prefecture-level city]]. The rank of a district derives from the rank of its city. Districts of a municipality are [[prefectures of China|prefecture-level]]; districts of a [[sub-provincial division|sub-provincial city]] are sub-prefecture-level; and districts of a prefecture-level city are [[counties of China|county-level]]. They were formerly the subdivisions of urban areas, consisting of built-up areas only. Recently many counties have become districts, so that districts are now often just like counties, with towns, villages, and farmland. After the 1980s, [[prefectures of China|prefectures]] began to be replaced with [[prefecture-level city|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, [[county|counties]], [[autonomous county|autonomous counties]], and [[county-level city|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 of China|towns]] and [[townships of China|townships]] under them governing rural areas.
Other two specialty districts exists, with a special county-level forestry district located in [[Hubei]] province and a special county-level division located in [[Guizhou]] province.
===Banners=== Banners were first used during the [[Qing dynasty]], which organized the Mongols into banners, except those who belonged to the [[Eight Banners]]. Each banner had [[Sum (administrative division)|sums]] as nominal subdivisions. In Inner Mongolia, several banners made up a [[Leagues of China|league]]. In the rest, including [[Outer Mongolia]], northern [[Xinjiang]], and [[Qinghai]], [[Aimag]] (Аймаг) was the largest administrative division. While it restricted the Mongols from crossing banner borders, the dynasty protected Mongolia from [[population pressure]] from [[China proper]]. After the [[Mongolian Revolution of 1921|Mongolian People's Revolution]], the banners of Outer Mongolia were abolished in 1923.<ref>{{cite web|title=1921 оны Ардын хувьсгал, 1921-1924 оны ардчилсан өөрчлөлтүүд|url=https://mnutulgatan.blogspot.com/2014/11/1921-1921-1924.html|website=mnutulgatan|lang=mn|access-date=1 March 2020|archive-date=1 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301060052/https://mnutulgatan.blogspot.com/2014/11/1921-1921-1924.html}}</ref> There are 52 in total, including 3 autonomous banners.<ref>{{cite web|title=Inner Mongolia Government Promotes Mongolian Language|url=https://www.cecc.gov/publications/commission-analysis/inner-mongolia-government-promotes-mongolian-language|website=CECC|quote="The 52 banners in the IMAR are…"|date=30 August 2006|access-date=24 January 2023}}</ref>
===Autonomous counties=== Autonomous counties are county-level [[autonomous administrative divisions of China]]. They are counties designated for a minority group.
===Ethnic districts=== Ethnic districts are city districts that are specially created for [[ethnic minorities in China|ethnic minorities]]. Currently there are five such "ethnic districts": three in [[Henan]], one in [[Heilongjiang]], and one in [[Inner Mongolia]].
==List== {{main|List of counties of China}} {| class="wikitable sortable" style=text-align:center |+ ! Provincial level division(s) ! Counties ! County-level cities ! Districts ! Banners ! Autonomous counties ! Autonomous banners ! Ethnic districts ! Other ! Total |- | [[Anhui]] || 50 || 9 || 45 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 104 |- | [[Beijing]] || 0 || 0 || 16 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 16 |- | [[Chongqing]] || 8 || 0 || 26 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 38 |- | [[Fujian]] || 44{{efn|[[Kinmen]] and [[Matsu Islands|Lienchiang County]] are governed by the Republic of China as part of its [[Fuchien Province, Republic of China|Fuchien Province]] and are claimed by the PRC.}} || 13 || 29 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0|| 86 |- | [[Gansu]] || 57 || 7 || 17 || 0 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 86 |- | [[Guangdong]] || 36 || 20 || 64 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 123 |- | [[Guangxi]] || 47 || 11 || 40 || 0 || 12 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 110 |- | [[Guizhou]] || 50 || 10 || 16 || 0 || 11 || 0 || 0 || 1{{efn|[[Liuzhi Special District]]}} || 88 |- | [[Hainan]] || 4 || 5 || 10 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 23 |- | [[Hebei]] || 93 || 20 || 48 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 167 |- | [[Heilongjiang]] || 45 || 21 || 53 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 121 |- | [[Henan]] || 83 || 22 || 50 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 158 |- | [[Hubei]] || 35 || 26 || 39 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 1{{efn|[[Shennongjia|Shennongjia Forestry District]]}} || 103 |- | [[Hunan]] || 59 || 19 || 36 || 0 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 121 |- | [[Inner Mongolia]] || 17 || 11 || 22 || 49 || 0 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 103 |- | [[Jiangsu]] || 19 || 21 || 55 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 95 |- | [[Jiangxi]] || 61 || 11 || 27 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 99 |- | [[Jilin]] || 16 || 20 || 21 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 60 |- | [[Liaoning]] || 18 || 16 || 59 || 0 || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 101 |- | [[Ningxia]] || 11 || 2 || 9 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 22 |- | [[Qinghai]] || 25 || 5 || 7 || 0 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 44 |- | [[Shaanxi]] || 70 || 7 || 30 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 107 |- | [[Shandong]] || 52 || 26 || 58 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 136 |- | [[Shanghai]] || 0 || 0 || 16{{efn|Including the [[Pudong New Area]]}} || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 16 |- | [[Shanxi]] || 80 || 11 || 26 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 117 |- | [[Sichuan]] || 106 || 19 || 54 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 183 |- style="background: salmon; | ''[[Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China|Taiwan]]''{{efn|name=TW}} || 11 || 3 || 158{{efn|There are 158 [[District (Taiwan)|districts]] claimed by the PRC and they are governed by the ROC's six [[Special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]].}} || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 172 |- | [[Tianjin]] || 0 || 0 || 16 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 16 |- | [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]] || 64 || 2 || 8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 74 |- | [[Xinjiang]] || 61 || 27{{efn|Ten of the county-level cities do not belong to any prefecture and are ''de facto'' administered by the [[Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps]] (XPCC).}} || 13 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 107 |- | [[Yunnan]] || 65 || 18 || 17 || 0 || 29 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 129 |- | [[Zhejiang]] || 32 || 20 || 37 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 90 |}
==See also== * [[Administrative divisions of China]] * [[Counties of China]] * [[County-level city]] * [[District (China)]] * [[Autonomous county]] * [[Counties of Taiwan]]
==Notes== {{notelist|refs= {{efn|name=TW|As [[Geography of Taiwan|Taiwan]] and [[Penghu]] are currently administered by the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]], its [[Administrative divisions of the Republic of China|administrative divisions]] differ from those in provinces administered by the [[China|People's Republic of China]].}} }}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{-}} {{Counties of China}} {{Articles on third-level administrative divisions of countries}}
[[Category:Counties of China| ]] [[Category:County-level divisions of China| 01]] [[Category:Administrative divisions in Asia|China 3]] [[Category:Third-level administrative divisions by country|Counties, China]]