Province-level divisions of China by: |
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This is a list of the first-level administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China (PRC), including all provinces, autonomous regions, special administrative regions and municipalities, in order of their highest points. Taiwan Province, the territory of which is administered by the Republic of China but claimed by the People's Republic of China, is included for comparison purposes.
Rank | Division | Location | Altitude in m (ft) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tibet | Chomolungma (Mount Everest) | 8,848 (29,029) |
2 | Xinjiang | Qogir (K2) | 8,611 (28,251) |
3 | Sichuan | Mount Gongga | 7,556 (24,790) |
4 | Qinghai | Bukadaban Feng | 6,860 (22,501) |
5 | Yunnan | Kawagebo | 6,740 (22,113) |
6 | Gansu | Altyn-Tagh | 5,798 (19,022) |
Taiwan | Yushan | 3,952 (12,966) | |
7 | Shaanxi | Mount Taibai | 3,767 (12,356) |
8 | Inner Mongolia | Main Peak, Helan Mountains | 3,556 (11,664) |
Ningxia | |||
10 | Hubei | Shennong Peak | 3,105 (10,184) |
11 | Shanxi | Mount Wutai | 3,058 (10,033) |
12 | Guizhou | Jiucaiping | 2,900 (9,512) |
13 | Hebei | Mount Xiaowutai | 2,882 (9,453) |
14 | Jilin | Baekdu Mountain | 2,744 (9,003) |
15 | Chongqing | Mount Guangtou | 2,685 (8,806) |
16 | Henan | Laoyachan'ao | 2,414 (7,918) |
17 | Beijing | Mount Ling | 2,303 (7,554) |
18 | Fujian | Mount Huanggang, Wuyi Mountains | 2,158 (7,080) |
Jiangxi | |||
20 | Guangxi | Mount Mao'er | 2,141 (7,022) |
21 | Hunan | Mount Huping | 2,099 (6,885) |
22 | Zhejiang | Huangmao Peak | 1,921 (6,301) |
23 | Guangdong | Shikengkong | 1,902 (6,239) |
24 | Anhui | Lianhua Peak, Huangshan Mountains | 1,873 (6,143) |
25 | Hainan | Mount Wuzhi | 1,867 (6,124) |
26 | Heilongjiang | Datudingzi Mountain | 1,690 (5,543) |
27 | Shandong | Jade Emperor Peak, Mount Tai | 1,545 (5,068) |
28 | Liaoning | Mount Huabozi | 1,336 (4,382) |
29 | Tianjin | Jiushan Peak | 1,078 (3,536) |
30 | Hong Kong | Tai Mo Shan | 957 (3,139) |
31 | Jiangsu | Mount Huaguo | 625 (2,050) |
32 | Macau | Coloane Alto | 172 (564) |
33 | Shanghai | Sheshan Hill | 118 (387) |
^ Territorial claims without actual administration. Yushan is on the border of Kaohsiung City, Nantou County and Chiayi County of the Republic of China.
The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of four types of province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China directly under the control of its Central People's Government, being integral areas of the country. As a region, they possess the highest degree of autonomy from China. However, despite the relative autonomy that the Central People's Government offers the special administrative regions, the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee remains capable of enforcing laws for the special administrative regions.
Taiwan Province is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The province remains a titular division as part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but it is no longer considered to have any administrative function practically.
The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there are five levels of local government; the provincial, prefecture, county, township, and village.
The Republic of China is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, there is a significant difference in the de jure system set out in the original constitution and the de facto system in use today.
Provinces are the most numerous type of province-level divisions in China. There are currently 22 provinces administered by China and 1 province that is claimed, but not administered (Taiwan). The government of Chinese provinces consists of a Provincial People's Government headed by a governor that acts as the executive, a Provincial People's Congress with legislative powers, and a parallel provincial branch of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that elects a Party Secretary and a Provincial Standing Committee.
A prefecture-level city or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
A league is an administrative unit of the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia in the People's Republic of China.
Chinese autonomous administrative divisions are associated with one or more ethnic minorities that are designated as autonomous within the People's Republic of China. These areas are recognized in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and are nominally given a number of rights not accorded to other administrative divisions of China. For example, Tibetan minorities in autonomous regions are granted rights and support not given to the Han Chinese, such as fiscal and medical subsidies.
The autonomous regions are one of four types of province-level divisions of China. Like Chinese provinces, an autonomous region has its own local government, but under Chinese law, an autonomous region has more legislative rights, such as the right to "formulate self-government regulations and other separate regulations." An autonomous region is the highest level of minority autonomous entity in China, which has a comparably higher population of a particular minority ethnic group.
Taiwan Province is a nominal administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The PRC constitution defines Taiwan as part of its territories despite the fact that the PRC has never controlled any part of Taiwan since the PRC's establishment in 1949. Taiwan is currently administered by the Republic of China (ROC).
The Tibet Area was a province-level administrative division of the Republic of China which consisted of Ü-Tsang and Ngari areas, but excluding the Amdo and Kham areas. However, the Republic of China never exercised control over the territory, which was ruled by the Ganden Phodrang government in Lhasa. The People's Republic of China, which overthrew the ROC on the mainland in 1949, invaded Chamdo in 1950 and incorporated the Dalai Lama-controlled regions in 1951. After the 1959 Tibetan rebellion, the State Council of the PRC ordered the replacement of the Tibetan Kashag government with the "Preparatory Committee for the Tibet Autonomous Region" (PCTAR). The current Tibet Autonomous Region was established as a province-level division of the People's Republic of China in 1965.
The Administrative division codes of the People's Republic of China identify the administrative divisions of China at county level and above. They are published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China with the latest version issued on September 30, 2015.
The history of the administrative divisions of China after 1949 refers to the administrative divisions under the People's Republic of China. In 1949, the communist forces initially held scattered fragments of China at the start of the Chinese Civil War. By late 1949, they controlled the majority of mainland China, forcing the Republic of China government to relocate to Taiwan.
The administrative divisions of China between 1912 and 1949 were established under the regime of the Republic of China government.