Townships (), formally township-level divisions (), are the basic level (fourth-level administrative units) of
political divisions 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 ...
. They are similar to municipalities and communes in other countries and in turn may contain village committees and villages. In 1995 there were 29,502 townships and 17,532 towns (a total of 47,034 township-level divisions) in China.
Much like other levels of government in mainland China, the township's governance is divided between the Communist Party Township Secretary, and the "
county magistrate
County magistrate ( or ) sometimes called local magistrate, in imperial China was the official in charge of the ''xian'', or county, the lowest level of central government. The magistrate was the official who had face-to-face relations with the ...
" (). The township party secretary, along with the township's party committee, determines policy. The magistrate is in charge of administering the daily affairs of government and executing policies as determined by the party committee. A township official is the lowest-level ranked official in the civil service hierarchy; in practice, however, the township party secretary and magistrate can amass high levels of personal power.
A township government is formally responsible for local economic development, planning, maintenance of local roads, family planning, sanitation & health, sports, and "other responsibilities as determined by higher level governments".
Types of townships
Urban
*
Subdistricts A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district.
Equivalents
* Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language
* Kelurahan, in Indonesia
* Mukim, a township in Brunei, Indon ...
()
*
Towns
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 ...
()
Rural
*Townships ()
*
Sums of Inner Mongolia
In Inner Mongolia, China, a sum (Mongolian: , сум, SASM/GNC romanization: ''sum''; , pinyin: ''sūmù''), sometimes known as a sumu, is a Administrative divisions of China, township-level political/administrative division. The ''sum'' division i ...
*
Ethnic townships, towns, and sums
Ethnic townships (), ethnic towns (), and ethnic sums () are fourth-level administrative units designated for ethnic minorities of political divisions in China. They are not considered to be autonomous and do not enjoy the laws pertaining ...
History
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, there was a lack of uniform regulations for establishing towns, and there were too many towns formed. By the end of 1954, there were 5,400 towns throughout the country, including 920 with a population of less than 2,000, 2,302 with a population of 2,000-5,000, 1,373 with a population of 5,000-10,000, 784 with a population of 10,000-50,000, and 21 with a population over 50,000. In June 1955, the
State Council State Council may refer to:
Government
* State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President
* State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
issued the "Decision on the Establishment of Cities and Towns", which clarified the criteria for the establishment of towns. By the end of 1978, there were only 2,173 townships in the country. After the abolition of the
people's commune system, the establishment of townships was given importance.
On 29 November 1984, the State Council announced new standards for the establishment of townships.
* All local state organs at the county level should be set up as townships.
* Townships with a total population of less than 20,000 and a non-agricultural population of more than 2,000 in the seat of the township government may be established.
* For communes with a total population of more than 20,000, towns may be established if the non-agricultural population of the commune's governmental seat accounts for more than 10% of the commune's population.
* Ethnic minority areas, sparsely populated remote areas, mountainous areas and small industrial and mining areas, small ports, scenic tourist areas, border crossings, etc., although the non-agricultural population of less than 2,000, if necessary, can also set up towns.
List of township-level divisions
![Townsips map of Yunnan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Townsips_map_of_Yunnan.PNG)
;Provinces
*
List of township-level divisions of Anhui
This is a township-level divisions of the province of Anhui, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions of th ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Fujian
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Fujian, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative division ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Gansu
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Gansu, People's Republic of China (PRC).
Lanzhou Chengguan District
Subdistricts:
* Baiyin Road Subdistrict (白银路街道), Caoyang Street Subdistrict (草场街街道), Donggang Ea ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Guangdong
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Guangdong, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divis ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Guizhou
__NOTOC__
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Guizhou, People's Republic of China. After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisi ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Hainan
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Hainan, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Hebei
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Hebei, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions of ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Heilongjiang
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Heilongjiang, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative d ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Henan
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Henan, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Hubei
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Hubei, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative division ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Hunan
This is a list of Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Township level, township-level divisions of the province of Hunan, China.
Changsha City Furong District
Tianxin District
Yuelu District
Kaifu District
Yuhua Dis ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Jiangsu
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Jiangsu, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative division ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Jiangxi
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Jiangxi, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisio ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Jilin
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Jilin, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Liaoning
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Liaoning, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisio ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Qinghai
A list of township-level divisions of Qinghai, China (PRC): After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions of the PRC. The townships of Qinghai are div ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Shaanxi
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Shaanxi, People's Republic of China. After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions of ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Shandong
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Shandong, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divis ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Shanxi
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Shanxi, People's Republic of China. After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisions of th ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Sichuan
This is a list of township-level divisions in the province of Sichuan, People's Republic of China (PRC).
Bazhong
Bazhou District
* Eight townships: Baimiao (白庙乡), Dahe (大和乡) Guandu (关渡乡), Huaxi (花溪乡), Jinbei ( ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Yunnan
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Yunnan, in the southwest of the People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Zhejiang
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Zhejiang, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divisio ...
; Autonomous areas
*
List of township-level divisions of Guangxi
This is a list of township-level divisions of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administr ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Inner Mongolia
This is a list of township-level divisions of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrat ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Ningxia
This is a list of township-level divisions of the province of Ningxia, People's Republic of China (PRC).
Yinchuan Jinfeng District
5 subdistricts
*Changchengzhonglu (长城中路街道), Shanghaixilu (上海西路街道), Beijingzhonglu (北京 ...
*
*
List of township-level divisions of Xinjiang
This is a list of Administrative divisions of China#Township level, township-level divisions (formal fourth-level administrative divisions including Towns of China, towns, Township (People's Republic of China), townships, Subdistrict (China), su ...
;Municipalities
*
List of township-level divisions of Beijing
This is a list of township-level divisions of the municipality of Beijing, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative divi ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Chongqing
This is a list of township-level divisions of the municipality of Chongqing, People's Republic of China (PRC). After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative d ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Shanghai
This is a list of township-level divisions of the municipality of Shanghai, People's Republic of China (PRC).
After province, prefecture, and county-level divisions, township-level divisions constitute the formal fourth-level administrative d ...
*
List of township-level divisions of Tianjin
This is a list of Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Township level, township-level divisions of the municipality of Tianjin, People's Republic of China (PRC). After Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of Ch ...
Similar to township units
A similar to township unit in the
system of administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China is a region with self-jurisdiction which functions at a
PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
township-level administrative division. Divisions of this sort can include development zones, science and technology parks,
university cities
A college town or university town is a community (often a separate town or city, but in some cases a town/city neighborhood or a district) that is dominated by its university population. The university may be large, or there may be several smal ...
,
companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
,
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
s,
fishing ground
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
,
ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
es,
orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
s,
national parks
A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...
, etc., even
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
s.
The township-level administrative division (the lowest level division) includes townships,
towns
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 ...
,
subdistricts A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district.
Equivalents
* Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language
* Kelurahan, in Indonesia
* Mukim, a township in Brunei, Indon ...
,
ethnic townships
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, and
sums
In mathematics, summation is the addition of a sequence of any kind of numbers, called ''addends'' or ''summands''; the result is their ''sum'' or ''total''. Beside numbers, other types of values can be summed as well: function (mathematics), fu ...
.
Some
county-level administrative districts that govern towns and villages will also be defined as a similar to township unit, as in the case of the
Jiaozishan Tourism Development Zone and Industrial Park of
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
.
References
External links
Citypopulation.de: Population by township in China
{{Authority control
01
Administrative divisions of China
Populated places in China
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 ...
Townships, China