Townships ( zh, s=乡, labels=no), formally township-level divisions ( zh, s=乡级行政区, labels=no), are the basic level (fourth-level administrative units) of political divisions in the

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 ...

. They are similar to municipalities and communes in other countries and in turn may contain village committees and villages. In 1995 there were 29,648 townships and 17,570 towns (a total of 47,218 township-level divisions) in China which included the territories held by the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and claimed by the PRC. 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" ( zh, s=乡长, hp=xiāngzhǎng, links=no). 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 ( zh, s=街道, hp=jiēdào, links=no) * Towns ( zh, s=镇, hp=zhèn, links=no)

Rural

*Townships ( zh, s=乡, hp=xiāng, links=no) * Sums of Inner Mongolia * Ethnic townships, towns, and sums

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 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

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 township-level administrative division. Divisions of this sort can include development zones, science and technology parks, university cities,

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

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,

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

es,

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

, etc., even

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

s. The township-level administrative division (the lowest level division) includes townships, towns, subdistricts, ethnic townships, and sums. 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 is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

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. 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 ...

Townships, China