County-level city

A county-level city (县级市 Pinyin: xiànjí shì) is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions.

Related Topics:
Pinyin - County-level - Mainland China - Prefecture-level - Province-level

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Most county-level cities were created in the 1980s and 1990s by replacing counties. This process was halted in 1997.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1990s - Counties - 1997

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 市区 shìqū, or "urban area", is used.

Related Topics:
Cities - Counties

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A sub-prefecture-level city is a county-level city with powers approaching those of prefecture-level cities. Examples include Jiyuan (Henan province), Xiantao (Hubei), and Golmud (Qinghai).

Related Topics:
Sub-prefecture-level city - Prefecture-level cities - Jiyuan - Henan - Xiantao - Hubei - Golmud - Qinghai

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~