Sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China
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| Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China |
| Province level |
|---|
| Provinces |
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| Special Administrative Regions (SARs) |
| Prefecture level |
| Prefectures Autonomous prefectures |
| Prefecture-level cities Sub-provincial cities |
| Leagues |
| County level |
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| County-level cities Sub-prefecture-level cities |
| City districts |
| Banners Autonomous banners |
| Township level |
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| Towns |
| Subdistricts |
| County districts (defunct) |
A sub-provincial city (Chinese: 副省级城市; pinyin: fù shĕng jí chéng shì) (or deputy-provincial city) in the People's Republic of China, is like a prefecture-level city that is ruled by a province, but is administered independently in regard to economy and law.
A sub-provincial city, similar to a prefecture-level city, is not "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, with the same name as the sub-provincial city), and its much larger surrounding rural area containing many smaller cities, towns and villages. The larger sub-provincial cities can be over 100km across in size.
The mayor of a sub-provincial city is equal in status to a vice-governor of a province. Its status is below that of municipalities, which are independent and equivalent to provinces, but above other, regular prefecture-level cities, which are completely ruled by their provinces. The original 16 sub-provincial cities were created on February 25, 1994 by the Central Organization Committee out of prefecture-level cities. They are sometimes the capitals of the provinces in which they are located.
Currently, there are 15 sub-provincial cities:[1]
 |
| Division name | Trad. | Simp. | Hanyu Pinyin | Postal | Province | Region | Population | Density (/km²) | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Changchun | 長春 | 长春 | Chángchūn | Hsinking | Jilin | Northeast | 7,459,000 | 363.3 | 20,532 |
| Chengdu | 成都 | 成都 | Chéngdū | Chengtu | Sichuan | Southwest | 10,597,000 | 12,390 | 887.9 |
| Dalian | 大連 | 大连 | Dàlián | Dairen | Liaoning | Northeast | 6,200,000 | 13,237 | 468.4 |
| Guangzhou | 廣州 | 广州 | Guǎngzhōu | Canton | Guangdong | South Central | 10,045,800 | 7,434.4 | 1,627 |
| Hangzhou | 杭州 | 杭州 | Hángzhōu | Hangchow | Zhejiang | East | 6,776,400 | 16,847 | 402.2 |
| Harbin | 哈爾濱 | 哈尔滨 | Hāěrbīn | Harbin | Heilongjiang | Northeast | 9,873,742 | 53,791 | 83.56 |
| Jinan | 濟南 | 济南 | Jǐnán | Tsinan | Shandong | East | 5,900,000 | 8,177 | 721.5 |
| Nanjing | 南京 | 南京 | Nánjīng | Nanking | Jiangsu | East | 7,588,900 | 6,598 | 1,123.5 |
| Ningbo | 寧波 | 宁波 | Níngbō | Ningpo | Zhejiang | East | 5,681,000 | 9,365 | 606.6 |
| Qingdao | 青島 | 青岛 | Qīngdǎo | Tsingtao | Shandong | East | 7,579,900 | 10,654 | 711.5 |
| Shenyang | 沈阳 | 沈阳 | Shěnyáng | Mukden | Liaoning | Northeast | 7,760,000 | 12,924 | 600.4 |
| Shenzhen | 深圳 | 深圳 | Shēnzhèn | Sinon | Guangdong | South Central | 8,615,500 | 2,050 | 4,202.7 |
| Wuhan | 武漢 | 武汉 | Wǔhàn | Hankou | Hubei | South Central | 9,700,000 | 8,467.11 | 1,145.6 |
| Xiamen | 廈門 | 厦门 | Xiàmén | Amoy | Fujian | East | 2,490,000 | 1,565 | 1553 |
| Xi'an | 西安 | 西安 | Xī'ān | Sian | Shaanxi | Northwest | 8,252,000 | 9,983 | 826.6 |
Chongqing was formerly a sub-provincial city of Sichuan until 1997, when it was made a municipality by splitting it out of Sichuan altogether. Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps also has the powers of a sub-provincial city. Additionally, the head of Pudong District of Shanghai, which is a county-level district, is given sub-provincial powers.
Guangzhou, Harbin and Chengdu are the largest sub-provincial cities; each has a population exceeding that of the independent municipality of Tianjin.
The National Standing Committee of Sub-provincial Municipal People's Congresses' Chairmen Joint Conference (全国副省级城市人大常委会主任联席会议) are attended by the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of all sub-provincial cities. It was proposed by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress in 1985. The conferences:
- 1. February 26 – March 4, 1985, Guangzhou
- ...
- 16. October 10, 2000, Chengdu
- 17. October 30, 2001, Guangzhou
- 18. July 23, 2002, Harbin
- 19. October 8, 2003, Wuhan
- 20. August 31, 2004, Shenyang
- 21. September 6, 2005, Qingdao
- 22. October 6, 2006, Shenzhen
- 23. August 17, 2007, Dalian
- 24. April 13, 2009, Xi'an
- 25. 2010, Nanjing
[edit] References
- ^ For the list of the 15 cities, see e.g., "15个副省级城市中 哈尔滨市房价涨幅排列第五名" (in Chinese). 2008-05-07. http://hrb.focus.cn/news/2008-05-07/467397.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-11.
- ^ References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual municipality articles.
