, map =

, category = Third level

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

of a

unitary state A unitary state is a (Sovereign state, sovereign) State (polity), state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or ...

, territory =

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces , start_date = , current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed) , number_date = 3 April 2023 , population_range = 15,124 ( Tsona) – 2,054,703 ( Puning) , area_range = ( Linxia) – ( Golmud) , government = Various, Central Government , subdivision =

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, Township A county-level city () is a county-level administrative division of the

. County-level cities have judicial but no legislative rights over their own local law and are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions. A county-level city is a "city" () and "county" () that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such, it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal entity, and a county, which is an administrative division of a prefecture. Most county-level cities were created in the 1980s and 1990s by replacing denser populated counties. County-level cities are not " cities" in the strictest sense of the word, since they usually contain rural areas many times the size of their urban, built-up area. This is because the counties that county-level cities have replaced are themselves large administrative units containing towns, villages and farmland. To distinguish a "county-level city" from its actual urban area (the traditional meaning of the word "city"), the term "" (shìqū) or "urban area", is used.

Comparable territorial divisions in other countries

While the idea of a "city" being a unit consisting of several "towns" is not a common one in

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

, a somewhat similar naming convention is used for

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

in some parts of Australia. For example, in New South Wales such a unit may often be called a "city" (rather than a traditional "shire"), and consist of "towns". E.g. City of Blue Mountains is made of a number of towns ( Katoomba, Springwood, etc.).

List

As of 3 April 2023, there are 408 county-level cities in total:

Sub-prefectural cities

A sub-prefectural city is a county-level city with powers approaching those of prefecture-level cities. Examples include, Xiantao (

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

), Qianjiang (

), Tianmen (

) and Jiyuan ( Henan).

References

Understanding the Chinese Economies, Rongxing Guo · 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:County-Level City Administrative divisions of China *Cou County-level divisions of the People's Republic of China

Comparable territorial divisions in other countries

List

Sub-prefectural cities

See also

References