Provinces
The People's Republic of China has administrative control over twenty-two provinces; the government of the PRC considers Taiwan to be its twenty-third province. Apart from provinces, there are five autonomous regions, each with a designated minority group; four municipalities; and two Special Administrative Regions that enjoy considerable autonomy.
The twenty-two provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities can be collectively referred to as 'mainland China', a term which usually excludes Hong Kong and Macau.
Provinces
Provinces are the most common type of province-level division. The PRC administers 22 provinces, though a small part of one of these provinces (Fujian) is administered by the ROC.
| Name | Postal Map Spelling | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Anhui | Anhwei | Hefei |
| Fujian | Fukien | Fuzhou (PRC) Kinmen (ROC) |
| Gansu | Kansu | Lanzhou |
| Guangdong | Kwangtung | Guangzhou |
| Guizhou | Kweichow | Guiyang |
| Hainan | Hainan | Haikou |
| Hebei | Hopeh | Shijiazhuang |
| Heilongjiang | Heilungkiang | Harbin |
| Henan | Honan | Zhengzhou |
| Hubei | Hupeh | Wuhan |
| Hunan | Hunan | Changsha |
| Jiangsu | Kiangsu | Nanjing |
| Jiangxi | Kiangsi | Nanchang |
| Jilin | Kirin | Changchun |
| Liaoning | Fengtien | Shenyang |
| Qinghai | Tsinghai | Xining |
| Shaanxi | Shensi | Xi'an |
| Shanxi | Shansi | Taiyuan |
| Shandong | Shantung | Jinan |
| Sichuan | Szechuan | Chengdu |
| Yunnan | Yunnan | Kunming |
| Zhejiang | Chekiang | Hangzhou |
Autonomous Regions
Autonomous regions are province-level divisions with a designated ethnic minority, and are guaranteed more rights under the constitution. For example, they have a chairman (where regular provinces have governors), who must be of the ethnic group as specified by the autonomous region (Tibetan, Uyghur, etc).
Autonomous regions were established after communist takeover, following Soviet nationality policy. There are five in total.
| Name | Designated Minority | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region | Zhuang | Nanning |
| Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region | Mongol | Hohhot |
| Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region | Hui | Yinchuan |
| Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region | Uyghur | Ürümqi |
| Tibet Autonomous Region | Tibetan | Lhasa |
Municipalities
Municipalities are large cities that have the same administrative level as provinces. Municipalities directly control county-level divisions, without an intervening prefecture-level. In practice, the actual metropolitan area of a municipality is only a tiny fraction of its total area; the rest of the municipality consists of towns and farmland. Chongqing is an extreme example of this - the rural population of this municipality exceeds its urban population.
There are 4 municipalities in the People's Republic of China.
- Beijing
- Chongqing
- Shanghai
- Tianjin
Special Administrative Regions
Special administrative regions (SARs) are local administrative regions with a high degree of autonomy under the One country, two systems arrangement, and come directly under the Central People's Government. Both SARs (Hong Kong and Macau) are small, and neither uses the administrative structure of mainland China. Hong Kong is divided into 18 districts, each with a consultative district council. Macau is administered as a whole by the SAR Government, with no further divisions, after the Portuguese-era municipalities were abolished.
