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 A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

or a

prefecture-level city 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. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

. 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 Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqin ...

'', another type of administrative division in China. Before the 1980s, cities in

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 A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

began to be replaced with

prefecture-level cities 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. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

. 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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...

. At the same time,

and

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

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s and

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

under them governing rural areas.

Types of districts

Regular districts

A regular district under a

Ethnic districts

A type of city districts that are specially created for

ethnic minorities The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

. Currently there are five such "ethnic districts": three in

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 literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, one in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

and one in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

. *

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 Guancheng Hui District (; Xiao'erjing: ) is one of 6 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, China. The District government is located in this district. The ruins of a Shang Dynasty city, () are ...

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 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. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

. *

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 Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

. *

Shennongjia Shennongjia Forestry District () is a county-level administrative unit (a "forestry district") in northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, directly subordinated to the provincial government. It occupies in western Hubei, and, as of ...

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 Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

. A county-controlled district was once an important subdivision of a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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

s or

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 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 a ...

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

, then the word is a translation for ''xian'', another type of administrative division in China. ''Xian'' has been translated using several

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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.)

References

{{Authority control County-level divisions of the People's Republic of China