District (China)

For the District in Taiwan, see District (Taiwan).
District
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese区
Traditional Chinese區
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQū
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese市辖区
Traditional Chinese市轄區
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinShìxiáqū
Tibetan name
Tibetanཆུས།
Transcriptions
Wyliechus
Tibetan PinyinQü
Zhuang name
ZhuangGih
Korean name
Hangul구
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationgu
McCune–Reischauergu
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillicᠲᠣᠭᠣᠷᠢᠭ
Transcriptions
SASM/GNCtorig
Uyghur name
Uyghurرايون‎
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiRayon
Siril Yëziqiрайон
Manchu name
Manchu scriptᠴᡳᠣᡳ
Möllendorffcioi
Kazakh name
Kazakhرايون
район
raion
Kyrghyz name
Kyrghyzرايون
район
rajon
Daur name
Daurorn
Oroqen name
Oroqengusxa

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, district (区), formally city-governed district, city-controlled district, or municipal district (市辖区), are subdivisions 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.

The term was also formerly used to refer to obsolete county-controlled districts (also known as district public office).

In a historical context, the word district could also be a translation for xian (县) or county, another type of administrative division in China.

Before the 1980s, cities in 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 strictly urban entities—some districts today are just like counties, with large towns and townships under them governing rural areas.

Types of districts

Regular districts

Further information: List of counties in China

A regular district under a municipality or prefecture-level city.[a]

Ethnic districts

A type of city districts which are specially created to protect equal rights and interest of the largest ethnic minority in the district. To carry out this function, the law requires that the head of government of the ethnic district be a member of the titular ethnic minority located in the district.[1] Currently there are five such "ethnic districts": three in Henan, one in Heilongjiang, and one in Inner Mongolia.[2]

Special district

One county-level special district, located in Guizhou.

Forestry district

One special sub-prefectural-level forestry district, located in Hubei.

Ten most populous districts

District Population
(2010 census)
Pudong, Shanghai 5,044,430
Bao'an, Shenzhen 4,017,807
Chaoyang, Beijing 3,545,137
Haidian, Beijing 3,280,670
Nanhai, Foshan 2,588,844
Binhai, Tianjin 2,482,065
Shunde, Foshan 2,461,701
Minhang, Shanghai 2,429,372
Baiyun, Guangzhou 2,223,150
Fengtai, Beijing 2,112,162

Number of districts per city

Number of districts City(ies) Number of cities
38 Gaoxiong 1
34 Tainan 1
29 Taizhong 1
28 Xinbei 1
25 Chongqing 1
16 Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin 3
13 Wuhan 1
12 Chengdu, Taibei, Taoyuan 3
11 Guangzhou, Nanjing, Xi'an 3
10 Hangzhou, Jinan, Shenyang 3
9 Harbin, Shenzhen 2
8 Shijiazhuang 1
7 Tangshan, Qiqihar, Changchun, Dalian, Nanning, Ürümqi, Kunming, Qingdao 8
6 Zhangjiakou, Xiamen, Shantou, Guiyang, Jixi, Hegang, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Changsha, Nanchang, Taiyuan, Ningbo, Guilin, Baotou, Handan, Fuzhou (FJ) 16
5 Huainan, Lanzhou, Foshan, Baoding, Daqing, Kaifeng, Yichang, Hengyang, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou (JS), Fuxin, Zibo, Zaozhuang, Liuzhou 16
4 Hefei, Wuhu, Bengbu, Putian, Quanzhou, Zhanjiang, Haikou, Sanya, Qinhuangdao, Shuangyashan, Yichun (HLJ), Jiamusi, Mudanjiang, Pingdingshan, Anyang, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Huangshi, Zhuzhou, Huai'an, Jilin, Anshan, Fushun, Benxi, Yingkou, Liaoyang, Xining, Yantai, Weifang, Datong, Zigong, Leshan, Wenzhou, Hohhot, Karamay, Baoji 36
3 Tongling, Ma'anshan, Huaibei, Anqing, Huangshan, Fuyang, Lu'an, Shaoguan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Chengde, Qitaihe, Hebi, Luohe, Shiyan, Xiangyang, Ezhou, Shaoyang, Yueyang, Nantong, Lianyungang, Yancheng, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Taizhou (JS), Jingdezhen, Dongying, Dandong, Jinzhou, Panjin, Tieling, Huludao, Tongchuan, Xianyang, Linyi, Yangquan, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Guangyuan, Nanchong, Mianyang, Shaoxing, Taizhou (ZJ), Zunyi, Wuzhou, Beihai, Guigang, Wuhai, Chifeng, Yinchuan, Ganzhou 52
2 Chuzhou, Hengshui, Sanming, Zhangzhou, Nanping, Longyan, Baiyin, Tianshui, Longnan, Maoming, Huizhou, Meizhou, Yangjiang, Qingyuan, Chaozhou, Jieyang, Yunfu, Anshun, Tongren, Xingtai, Cangzhou, Langfang, Sanmenxia, Nanyang, Shangqiu, Xinyang, Xuchang, Jingmen, Jingzhou, Xiangtan, Changde, Zhangjiajie, Yiyang, Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Suqian, Pingxiang, Jiujiang, Ji'an, Shangrao, Siping, Liaoyuan, Tonghua, Baishan, Chaoyang, Haidong, Weinan, Jining, Tai'an, Weihai, Rizhao, Dezhou, Binzhou, Heze, Yulin (SN), Changzhi, Shuozhou, Suining, Neijiang, Meishan, Yibin, Guang'an, Dazhou, Ya'an, Bazhong, Ziyang, Yuxi, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Jinhua, Quzhou, Zhoushan, Fuzhou (JX), Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Yulin (GX), Hezhou, Hechi, Yan'an, Ordos, Hulunbuir, Shizuishan, Wuzhong, Lhasa, Qujing, Sansha 86
1 Suzhou (AH), Bozhou, Chizhou, Xuancheng, Ningde, Jinchang, Wuwei, Zhangye, Pingliang, Jiuquan, Qingyang, Dingxi, Shanwei, Heyuan, Bijie, Liupanshui, Heihe, Suihua, Puyang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian, Xiaogan, Huanggang, Xianning, Suizhou, Huaihua, Loudi, Xinyu, Yingtan, Yichun (JX), Songyuan, Baicheng, Hanzhong, Ankang, Shangluo, Liaocheng, Jincheng, Jinzhong, Yuncheng, Xinzhou, Linfen, Lüliang, Deyang, Baoshan, Zhaotong, Lijiang, Pu'er, Lincang, Lishui, Baise, Laibin, Chongzuo, Tongliao, Bayannur, Ulanqab, Guyuan, Zhongwei, Xigazê, Qamdo, Nyingchi, Shannan, Turpan, Hami 63
0 Jiayuguan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Danzhou 4

County-controlled districts (obsolete)

A county-controlled district, sometimes translated as county-governed district; county district; or sub-county (Chinese: 县辖区，区; pinyin: Xiànxiáqū, Qū) is a sub-county in China. A branch of a county government, a district public office (Chinese: 区公所; pinyin: Qū gōngsuǒ) is the administrative office in a district; it is not a local government. A county-controlled district was once an important subdivision of a county all over China from the 1950s to 1990s. It was common for there to be about five to ten districts in a county, then about three to five towns and townships in a district. After the 1990s, county-controlled districts began to be phased out, and their role was taken over by larger towns or townships created by merging smaller ones.

At the end of 2014, there was just one county-controlled district left in China:

(See Administrative divisions of China for how these two types of districts fit into the general administrative hierarchy of mainland China.)

Ancient sense

See also: Counties 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.[dubious – discuss][citation needed]

Xian has been translated using several English terms. In the context of ancient history, "district" and "prefecture" are commonly used, while "county" is used for more contemporary contexts.

(See Counties of China for more information on the xian of China.)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Including six claimed prefecture-level cities in Taiwan Province. Those are controlled by the Republic of China under its special municipalities.

References

  1. ^ "(4) Composition of governments of townships, ethnic townships and towns". China. China Internet Information Center. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  2. ^ "中国城市民族行政区保障少数民族参政权利". Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2010-04-22. Archived from the original on 2026-02-22. Retrieved 2026-03-01. 郑州市管城回族区、开封市顺河回族区、洛阳市瀍河回族区、齐齐哈尔市梅里斯达斡尔族区和呼和浩特市回民区是中国仅有的5个城市民族行政区，是为了保护聚居在城市的少数民族的平等权益而设立的比较特殊的行政区划。 [Guancheng Hui District of Zhengzhou, Shunhe Hui District of Kaifeng, Chanhe Hui District of Luoyang, Meilisi Daur District of Qiqihar, and Hui District of Hohhot are the only five ethnic minority administrative districts in China. They are special administrative divisions established to protect the equal rights and interests of ethnic minorities living in cities.]
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_district