Direct-administered municipalities of China

Municipality 直辖市 Zhíxiáshì
Category	Unitary state
Location	People's Republic of China
Number	4
Populations	12,938,224 (Tianjin) – 28,846,170 (Chongqing)
Areas	2,448.1 square miles (6,341 km2) (Shanghai) – 31,816 square miles (82,400 km2) (Chongqing)
Government	Dual-Party Government
Subdivisions	District, County, Autonomous County

A municipality (simplified Chinese: 直辖市; traditional Chinese: 直轄市; pinyin: zhíxiáshì), also translated as direct-controlled municipality (formally), municipality directly under the central government, or province-level municipality is the highest level classification for cities used by the People's Republic of China. These cities have the same rank as provinces, and form part of the first tier of administrative divisions of China.

A municipality is a "city" (Chinese: 市; pinyin: shì) with "provincial" (Chinese: 省级; pinyin: shěngjí) power under an unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city and a province of its own right.

A municipality is often not a "city" in the usual sense of the term (i.e., a large continuous urban settlement), but instead an administrative unit comprising, typically, a main central urban area (a city in the usual sense, usually with the same name as the municipality), and its much larger surrounding rural area containing many smaller cities (districts & subdistricts), towns and villages. The larger municipality span over 100 kilometres (62 mi). To distinguish a "municipality" from its actual urban area (the traditional meaning of the word "city"), the term Chinese: 市区, or "urban area", is used.

History

The first municipalities were the 11 cities of Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Hankou (now part of Wuhan), Shenyang, and Harbin when the ROC government ruled China. They were established in 1927 soon after they were designated as "cities" during the 1920s. Nominally, Dalian was a municipality as well, although it was under Japanese control. These cities were first called special municipalities/cities (特别市; 特別市; tébiéshì), but were later renamed Yuan-controlled municipalities (院辖市; 院轄市; yuànxiáshì), then direct-controlled municipalities (直辖市; 直轄市; zhíxiáshì) by the Central Government.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Anshan, Benxi, and Fushun were also made municipalities, while Qingdao, Dalian, and Harbin were reduced to provincial municipalities. Hankou was merged into Wuhan. Hence, there remained 12 municipalities, until Dalian was elevated in 1950. In November 1952, Nanjing was reduced to a provincial municipality. In July 1953, Harbin was restored to municipality status, along with Changchun. Except Beijing and Tianjin, which were under central control, all other municipalities were governed by the greater administrative areas.

In June 1954, 11 of the 14 municipalities were reduced to sub-provincial cities; many of them became capitals of the provinces they were in. Only Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin remained municipalities, until Chongqing was restored as a municipality in 1997 with a much enlarged area. Tianjin was also temporarily reverted to sub-provincial city status around the 1960s.

Position in hierarchy

Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in the PRC. Some cities of lower levels may also refer to themselves as municipalities in the English language.

Three levels of cities in the People's Republic of China:

1. Municipalities (直辖市; 直轄市; zhíxiáshì);
2. Prefecture-level cities (地级市; 地級市; dìjíshì), including sub-provincial cities; and,
3. County-level cities (县级市; 縣級市; xiànjíshì), including sub-prefecture-level cities.

Administration

In municipalities, the highest ranking government official is the Mayor. The mayor is also a delegate in the National People's Congress (the legislature) and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Municipal Committee. However, the highest administrative authority in the municipality belongs to the Secretary of the CPC Municipal Committee or Party Secretary.

Current PRC Municipalities

ISO	Division name	Simplified Chinese	Pinyin	Abbr.	Population	Area (km²)	Divisions	City seat	Origin Province (split date)	Origin Prefecture	Origin County
CN-11	Beijing	北京市	Běijīng Shì	京 jīng	19,612,368	16,801	List (16 districts)	Dongcheng Tongzhou	Hebei (Oct. 1949)	Shuntian	Daxing
CN-12	Tianjin	天津市	Tiānjīn Shì	津 jīn	12,938,224	11,760	List (15 districts & 1 county)	Heping	Hebei (Jan. 1967)	Tianjin	Tianjin
CN-31	Shanghai	上海市	Shànghǎi Shì	沪 hù	23,019,148	6,340	List (16 districts & 1 county)	Huangpu	Jiangsu (Mar. 1927)	Songjiang	Shanghai
CN-50	Chongqing	重庆市	Chóngqìng Shì	渝 yú	28,846,170 (City Core 16,240,026)	82,300 (City Core 6,268)	List (23 districts, 11 counties, & 4 autonomous counties) (City Core: 19 districts)	Yuzhong	Sichuan (May 1997)	Chongqing	Ba

Former ROC and PRC municipalities

Name	Simplified Chinese	Pinyin	Abbr.	City seat	Administration period	Original province	Original prefecture	Original county
Jingdu	京都市	Jīngdū Shì	京 jīng	Dongcheng	1921–1927	Zhili (present province: Hebei)	Shuntian	Daxing
Jingu	津沽市	Jīngū Shì	津 jīn	Heping	1921–1927	Zhili (present province: Hebei)	Tianjin	Tianjin
Songhu	淞沪市	Sōnghù Shì	沪 hù	Huangpu	1921–1927	Jiangsu	Songjiang	Shanghai
Qingdao	青岛市	Qīngdǎo Shì	青 qīng	Shinan	1921–1927, 1929–1949	Shandong	Jiaozhou	Jiao
Harbin	哈尔滨市	Hāerbīn Shì	哈 hā	Nangang	1921–1927, 1947–1949, 1953–1954	Songjiang (present province: Heilongjiang)	Binzhou	Bin
Hankou	汉口市	Hànkǒu Shì	汉 hàn	Jiang'an	1921–1927, 1929–1931, 1947–1949	Hubei	Hanyang	Hanyang
Wuxi	无锡市	Wúxī Shì	锡 xī	Binhu	1921–1927	Jiangsu	Changzhou	Wuxi
Hangzhou	杭州市	Hángzhōu Shì	杭 háng	Gongshu	1921–1927	Zhejiang	Hangzhou	Yuhang
Ningbo	宁波市	Níngbō Shì	甬 yǒng	Jiangdong	1921–1927	Zhejiang	Ningbo	Yin
Anqing	安庆市	Ānqìng Shì	安 ān	Daguan	1921–1927	Anhui	Anqing	Huaining
Nanchang	南昌市	Nánchāng Shì	洪 hóng	Donghu	1921–1927	Jiangxi	Nanchang	Nanchang
Wuchang	武昌市	Wǔchāng Shì	武 wǔ	Wuchang	1921–1927	Hubei	Wuchang	Jiangxia
Guangzhou	广州市	Guǎngzhōu Shì	穗 suì	Yuexiu	1921–1927, 1930, 1947–1954	Guangdong	Guangzhou	Panyu Nanhai
Wuzhou	梧州市	Wúzhōu Shì	梧 wú	Changzhou	1921–1927	Guangxi	Wuzhou	Cangwu
Nanjing	南京市	Nánjīng Shì	宁 níng	Xuanwu	1927–1952	Jiangsu	Jiangning	Jiangning
Xi'an	西安市	Xī'ān Shì	鎬 hào	Weiyang	1927–1954	Shaanxi	Xi'an	Chang'an
Wuhan	武汉市	Wǔhàn Shì	汉 hàn	Jiang'an	1927–1929, 1949	Hubei	Hanyang Wuchang	Hanyang Jiangxia
Beiping	北平市	Jīngdū Shì	平 píng	Dongcheng	1928–1949	Zhili (present province: Hebei)	Shuntian	Daxing
Dalian	大连市	Dàlián Shì	连 lián	Xigang	1947–1949	Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning)	Jinzhou	Ninghai
Shenyang	沈阳市	Shěnyáng Shì	沈 shěn	Shenhe	1947–1954	Liaoxi (present province: Liaoning)	Fengtian	Fengtian
Anshan	鞍山市	Ānshān Shì	鞍 ān	Tiedong	1949–1954	Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning)	Liaoyang	Haicheng Liaoyang
Benxi	本溪市	Běnxī Shì	本 běn	Pingshan	1949–1954	Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning)	Fengtian	Benxi
Fushun	抚顺市	Fǔshùn Shì	抚 fǔ	Xinfu	1949–1954	Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning)	Fengtian	Fushun
Lüda	旅大市	Lǚdà Shì	旅 lǚ	Xigang	1950–1954	Lüda (present province: Liaoning)	Jinzhou	Ninghai
Changchun	长春市	Chángchūn Shì	春 chūn	Nanguan	1953–1954	Jilin	Changchun	Changchun

See also

• Independent city
• Imperial immediacy