East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural
region
In geography, regions are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and the environment (environmental geography). Geographic re ...

that covers the eastern coastal area of
China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in . It is the world's , with a of more than 1.4 billion. China spans five geographical and 14 different countries, the in the world after . Covering an area of ap ...

.
A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the
Chinese Central Government to include the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, first-level subdivision, as well as many similar terms, are g ...
of (in alphabetical order)
Anhui
Anhui (; Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is l ...

,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnat ...

,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; formerly romanized Kiangsu) is an eastern-central coastal province
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative regi ...

,
Shandong
Shandong (; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province
A province is almost always an administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subn ...

and
Zhejiang
Zhejiang (, ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou. Zhejiang is bordered ...

, as well as the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unitArticle 3(1). , country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, first-level subdivision, as well as many similar terms, ...
of
Shanghai
Shanghai (, , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China. The city is located on the sou ...

. In 1961, the province of
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; alternately romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi, Gan Chinese
Gan, Gann or Kan is a group of Sinitic languages spoken first language, natively by many people in the Jiangxi province of China, as well as significant populations in ...

was added to the region (previously it was considered part of
South Central China
South Central China ( zh, c = 中南, p = Zhōngnán, l = Central-South) is a region
In geography, regions are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), ...

).
Since the Chinese government
claims Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia
Asia () is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and N ...

and the few outlying islands of Fujian (
Kinmen
Kinmen, English exonyms#Taiwan, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a County (Taiwan), county by the Republic of China (ROC) based in Taiwan, off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the ...

and
Matsu) governed by the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. It shares Maritime boundary, maritime borders with the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the sout ...
(Taiwanese government) as
, the claimed "
Taiwan Province, People's Republic of China
Taiwan Province is a province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman E ...
" was once classified in this region.
Administrative divisions
Cities with urban area over one million in population
Provincial capitals in bold.
See also
*
Yangtze River Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis
A megalopolis (), sometimes called a megapolis; also megaregion, city cluster or supercity, is a group of two or more roughly adjacent metropolitan a ...

References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Regions of China
{{Cat main, List of regions of China
Geography of China
Administrative divisions of China
Regions of Asia by country, China ...