Prefecture-level divisions of China

China is divided into 339 prefecture-level divisions, which rank below province-level and above counties as the second-level administrative division in the country. Of these, 333 are located in territory controlled by the People's Republic of China, while 6 are located in land controlled by Taiwan.

There are four types of prefecture-level divisions:

299 Prefecture-level cities (293 in mainland China and 6 in the claimed Taiwan Province)

30 Autonomous prefectures

7 Prefectures

3 Leagues

Of these, leagues and prefectures are in the process of being abolished and transformed into one of the other two types of prefecture-level divisions.

History

Modern prefectures emerged from successive attempts by Yuan Shikai and later the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China to abolish the second level of administrative divisions. When these attempts eventually failed, modern prefectures were created in 1936. Chinese provinces are relatively large by international standards, and provincial administrations have difficulty administering counties without an intermediary level of government. However, prefecture-level divisions are still not a formally recognized level of government in the same way as provinces and counties.

Types

Prefecture-level cities

By far the most common type of prefecture-level division, prefecture-level cities are cities with the right to administer surrounding counties. This arrangement is known as "cities governing counties." Although there have been at least a few prefecture-level cities since the beginning of the PRC, they were relatively uncommon until the 1980s. Since then, hundreds of prefectures have been converted into prefecture-level cities.