Province (China)

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A province, in the context of China, is a translation of sheng which is an administrative division. Together with municipalities, autonomous regions, and the special administrative regions, provinces make up the first level (known as the province level) of administrative division in China. Theoretically, provinces are also the first level division of the Republic of China on Taiwan, though this role has been diminished.

The People's Republic of China currently governs 22 provinces, out of a total of 23 province level divisions. The PRC also claims, but does not control, the 23rd province of Taiwan. The Republic of China governs Taiwan, as well as some offshore islands including Kinmen and Matsu, very near to Fujian province.

In the People's Republic of China, every province has a Communist Party of China provincial committee, headed by a secretary. The committee secretary is first-in-charge of the province, rather than the governor of the provincial government.

Facts about the provinces

Until the ROC administration, Hebei was known as "Zhili", or "directly-ruled".
Guangxi was made an autonomous region under the PRC government in 1949. Before then, it was a province like any other.
The largest province by area is Qinghai, which also has the smallest population of just over 5.3 million.
Eight of the provinces (excluding Taiwan, Republic of China) have a sea coast. The remaining 14 are land-locked.
Guangdong, Shandong and Liaoning all have a major peninsula.
Guangdong is the only province bordering the only two Special Administrative Regions of China.
Separated from Guangdong and established in 1988, Hainan is the youngest province of China.
Aside from Hainan (which is not physically attached to any provinces), all provinces share borders with at least three or more provinces except for Heilongjiang.
The Municipality of Chongqing was carved out of Sichuan province on June 12, 1997.

Map and list

Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China. Note: this map depicts the theoretical administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China, which are not synchronized with the actual administrative divisions of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The PRC controls mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao while the Republic of China controls Taiwan and nearby islands.

Provinces governed by the People's Republic of China
Name	Chinese (S)	pinyin	Abbreviation	Capital	Chinese	pinyin	List of county-level divisions
Anhui	安徽	Ānhuī	皖 wǎn	Hefei	合肥	Héféi	List of county-level divisions
Fujian	福建	Fújiàn	闽 mǐn	Fuzhou	福州	Fúzhōu	List of county-level divisions
Gansu	甘肃	Gānsù	甘 gān or 陇 lǒng	Lanzhou	兰州	Lánzhōu	List of county-level divisions
Guangdong	广东	Guǎngdōng	粤 yuè	Guangzhou	广州	Guǎngzhōu	List of county-level divisions
Guizhou	贵州	Guìzhōu	黔 qián or 贵 guì	Guiyang	贵阳	Guìyáng	List of county-level divisions
Hainan	海南	Hǎinán	琼 qióng	Haikou	海口	Hǎikǒu	List of county-level divisions
Hebei	河北	Héběi	冀 jì	Shijiazhuang	石家庄	Shíjiāzhuāng	List of county-level divisions
Heilongjiang	黑龙江	Hēilóngjiāng	黑 hēi	Harbin	哈尔滨	Hā'ěrbīn	List of county-level divisions
Henan	河南	Hénán	豫 yù	Zhengzhou	郑州	Zhèngzhōu	List of county-level divisions
Hubei	湖北	Húběi	鄂 è	Wuhan	武汉	Wǔhàn	List of county-level divisions
Hunan	湖南	Húnán	湘 xiāng	Changsha	长沙	Chángshā	List of county-level divisions
Jiangsu	江苏	Jiāngsū	苏 sū	Nanjing	南京	Nánjīng	List of county-level divisions
Jiangxi	江西	Jiāngxī	赣 gàn	Nanchang	南昌	Nánchāng	List of county-level divisions
Jilin	吉林	Jílín	吉 jí	Changchun	长春	Chángchūn	List of county-level divisions
Liaoning	辽宁	Liáoníng	辽 liáo	Shenyang	沈阳	Shěnyáng	List of county-level divisions
Qinghai	青海	Qīnghǎi	青 qīng	Xining	西宁	Xīníng	List of county-level divisions
Shaanxi	陕西	Shǎnxī	陕 shǎn or 秦 qín	Xi'an	西安	Xī'ān	List of county-level divisions
Shandong	山东	Shāndōng	鲁 lǔ	Jinan	济南	Jǐnán	List of county-level divisions
Shanxi	山西	Shānxī	晋 jìn	Taiyuan	太原	Tàiyuán	List of county-level divisions
Sichuan	四川	Sìchuān	川 chuān or 蜀 shǔ	Chengdu	成都	Chéngdū	List of county-level divisions
Yunnan	云南	Yúnnán	滇 diān or 云 yún	Kunming	昆明	Kūnmíng	List of county-level divisions
Zhejiang	浙江	Zhèjiāng	浙 zhè	Hangzhou	杭州	Hángzhōu	List of county-level divisions

History

The provinces of China were first set up during the Yuan Dynasty. There were initially 10 provinces. By the time the Qing Dynasty was established, there were 18, all of which were in China proper. These were:

Sichuan

For every province, there was a xunfu (巡撫), a political overseer on behalf of the emperor, and a tidu (提督), a military governor. In addition, there was a zongdu (總督), a general military inspector or governor general, for every two to three provinces.

Outer regions of China (those beyond China proper) were not divided into provinces. Manchuria (consisting of Fengtian (now Liaoning), Jilin, Heilongjiang), Xinjiang, and Mongolia were overseen by military leaders or generals (將軍) and vice-dutong (副都統), and civilian leaders were heads of the leagues (盟長), a subdivision of Mongolia. Tibet was administratively overseen by the ambans (驻藏大臣).

In 1878, Xinjiang became a province, in 1909, Fengtian, Jilin, and Heilongjiang were made provinces as well. Taiwan was made a province in 1887, but it was ceded to Japan in 1895. As a result, there were 22 provinces in China (Outer China and China proper) near the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The Republic of China, established in 1912, set up 4 more provinces in Inner Mongolia and 2 provinces in historic Tibet, bringing the total to 28. 4 provinces were however lost with the establishment of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. After the defeat of Japan in World War II, Manchuria was reincorporated as 10 provinces, and control of Taiwan was assumed by the Republic of China. As a result, the Republic of China had 35 provinces. Although the Republic of China now only controls one province (Taiwan Province) and some islands of a second province (Fujian), it continues to claim (in theory at least) 35 provinces.

The People's Republic of China abolished many of the provinces in the 1950s and converted a number of them into autonomous regions. Hainan was set up as a separate province in 1988, bringing the total number of provinces to 22.

References

External links