The term ''district'', in the context of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China.
In the modern context, district (), formally city-governed district, city-controlled district, or municipal district (), 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
A sub-provincial division () in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half a level. Thus, it is half a level under the provincial level (hence the name sub-provincial) but half a level above the prefecture-level.
T ...
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).
However, if the word ''district'' is encountered in the context of ancient
Chinese history
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...
, then it is a translation for ''
xian'', another type of administrative division in China.
Before the 1980s, cities in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
were administrative divisions containing mostly urban, built-up areas, with very little farmland, except for the immediate
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s 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
Autonomous counties () and autonomous banners () are county-level autonomous administrative divisions of China. The two are essentially identical except in name.
There are 117 autonomous counties and three autonomous banners. The latter are fo ...
, 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
A regular district under a
municipality or
prefecture-level city.
Ethnic districts
A type of city districts that are specially created for
ethnic minorities. Currently there are five such "ethnic districts": three in
Henan, one in
Heilongjiang and one in
Inner Mongolia.
*
Chanhe Hui District
Chanhe Hui District () is a district of the city of Luoyang, Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which l ...
*
Guancheng Hui District
*
Shunhe Hui District
Shunhe Hui District () is a district of the city of Kaifeng, Henan province, China.
Administrative divisions
As 2012, this district is divided to 6 subdistricts and 2 towns.
;Subdistricts
;Towns
*Dongjiao Township Dongjiao may refer to the follow ...
*
Meilisi Daur District
Meilisi Daur District () is an outlying district of the city of Qiqihar, Heilongjiang Province, China.
Area:
Population:
Post Code: 161021
Administrative divisions
Meilisi Daur District is divided into 1 subdistrict, 4 towns, 1 ethnic town ...
*
Huimin District
Huimin District ( Mongolian: ; ) is one of four districts of the prefecture-level city of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, North China. The district is designated as a Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2 ...
(the term ''Huimin'' refers to the
Hui people
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the ...
)
Special districts
A special county-level division located in
Guizhou.
*
Liuzhi Special District
Liuzhi Special District () is a district of Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. G ...
, Liupanshui
Forestry districts
A special sub-prefectural-level forestry district located in
Hubei.
*
Shennongjia
Ten most populated districts
Number of districts per city
County-controlled districts (obsolete)
A county-controlled district, sometimes translated as county-governed district; county district; or sub-county () is a sub-county in China. A branch of a county government, a district public office () 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:
*
Nanshan District (Zhuolu County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei)
(See
Administrative divisions of China for how these two types of districts fit into the general administrative hierarchy of mainland China.)
Ancient sense
If the word "district" is encountered in the context of ancient
Chinese history
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...
, then the word is a translation for ''xian'', another type of administrative division in China.
''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
Counties ( zh, t=縣, s=县, hp=Xiàn), formally county-level divisions, are found in the third level of the administrative hierarchy in Provinces and Autonomous regions and the second level in municipalities and Hainan, a level that is known ...
for more information on the ''xian'' of China.)
See also
*
List of districts in China
*
District
*
Gu (administrative division) in
South Korea
*
Ku in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
References
{{Authority control
County-level divisions of the People's Republic of China