District (China)

This article is part of the series: Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China

Provincial level Provinces (省; shěng) Autonomous regions (自治区; zìzhìqū) Municipalities (直辖市; zhíxiáshì) Special administrative regions (特别行政区; tèbié xíngzhèngqū)

Sub-provincial level Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures (副省级自治州; fùshěngjí zìzhìzhōu) Sub-provincial cities (副省级城市; fùshěngjí chéngshì) Sub-provincial new areas (副省级市辖新区; fùshěngjí shìxiá xīnqū)

Prefectural level Prefectures (地区; dìqū) Autonomous prefectures (自治州; zīzhìzhōu) Prefecture-level cities (地级市; dìjíshì) Leagues (盟; méng)

Sub-prefecture-level Sub-prefectural-level cities (副地级市; fùdìjíshì)

County level Counties (县; xiàn) Autonomous counties (自治县; zìzhìxiàn) County-level cities (县级市; xiànjíshì) City districts (市辖区; shìxiáqū) Ethnic districts Banners (旗; qí) Autonomous banners (自治旗; zìzhìqí) Forestry areas (林区; línqū) Special districts (特区; tèqū)

Township level Townships (乡; xiāng) Ethnic townships (民族乡; mínzúxiāng) Towns (镇; zhèn) Subdistricts (街道办事处; jiēdào bànshìchù) Sumus (苏木; sūmù) Ethnic sumus (民族苏木; mínzúsūmù) District public offices (abolishing) (区公所; qū gōngsuǒ)

Village level Village Committees (村民委员会; cūnmín-wěiyuánhùi) Neighborhood Committees (居民委员会; jūmín-wěiyuánhùi)

History of the political divisions of China

The term district, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China.

In the modern context, districts (simplified Chinese: 区; traditional Chinese: 區; Hanyu Pinyin: qū; Tongyong Pinyin: cyu) refer to two types of divisions in the People's Republic of China: city districts and the soon-to-be-phased-out county districts (also known as district public offices). Districts can also refer to a type of division in the Republic of China on Taiwan.

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.

People's Republic of China

Main article: District (PRC)

City districts

A city district (市辖区, pinyin: shìxiáqū, lit. a city-governed district) is a subdivision of a municipality or a prefecture-level city. 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.

Before the 1980s, cities in the People's Republic of China 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 just urban entities — some districts today are just like counties, with towns and townships under them governing rural areas.

Ethnic districts

A type of city districts that are specially created for ethnic minorities. Currently there are 4 ethnic districts three in Henan and one in Heilongjiang.

county-controlled district

Main article: county-controlled district

A county district, also known as a district public office (区公所), was once an important subdivision of a county all over China from 1950s to 1990s. It was common for there to be about 5 to 10 districts in a county, then about 3 to 5 towns and townships in a district. After the 1990s, county districts began to be phased out, and their role was taken over by larger towns and townships created by merging smaller ones.

At the end of 2005, there are just 11 district public offices left in China, with 1 in Hebei and 10 in Xinjiang.

See Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China for how these two types of districts fit into the general administrative hierarchy of mainland China.

Republic of China

This article is part of a series on the Administrative divisions of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
In effect
1st	Provinces (省 shěng) (streamlined)
	Special municipalities (直轄市 zhíxiáshì)
2nd	Counties (縣 xiàn)
	Provincial cities (市 shì)
3rd	Districts (區 qū)
	County-controlled cities (縣轄市 xiànxiáshì)
	Urban townships (鎮 zhèn)
	Rural townships (鄉 xiāng)
4th	Urban villages (里 lǐ)
	Rural villages (村 cūn)
5th	Neighborhoods (鄰 lín)
Suspended 1st Regions (地方 Dìfāng) (also known as "Areas") Special administrative regions (SARs) (特別行政區 tèbié xíngzhèngqū) Leagues (盟、部 méng, bù) Special banners (特別旗 tèbiéqí) 2nd Bureaus (設治局 shèzhìjú) Management bureaus (管理局 guǎnlǐjú) Banners (旗 qí) See also History of the administrative divisions of China

Main article: District (ROC)

In the Republic of China (ROC, "Taiwan"), districts are the only subdivision of municipalities and provincial cities. Unlike districts in mainland China, districts in Taiwan are predominantly urban and suburban, and do not usually contain rural areas.

Ancient sense

See also: Counties of the People's Republic of China#History

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 language terms. In the context of ancient history, "district" and "prefecture" are commonly used, while "county" is used for more contemporary contexts.

See Counties of the People's Republic of China for more information on the xian of China.

See also

• District