China, being the largest country in Asia with the largest population in the world (at the beginning of 2018 - 1.39 billion people), has a rather complex administrative division. China is famous for its ancient culture, which has thousands of years of roots and a great history. It was the Chinese who first invented paper and ink, the printing press and gunpowder, silk and porcelain. The main language is Mandarin and the main religions are Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Islam. In 1949, when the Communists defeated the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), the country became known as the People's Republic of China.
The current form of China's territorial division is a three-tier system dividing the state into provinces, municipalities with direct central government and autonomous regions. The country's constitution allows the government to create special administrative regions by its decision.
Both provinces and autonomous regions are composed of prefectures, districts, counties and cities. Settlements, ethnic communities and small towns fall under the jurisdiction of counties and autonomous regions.
Municipalities under the central government of large cities are composed of districts and districts.
PRC includes twenty-three provinces, five autonomous regions, four centralized municipalities and two special administrative regions.
The administrative-territorial divisions and economic zones of China, while reporting to the central government, have great autonomy in terms of economic policy.
Features of the formation of provinces
The provincial government is the next highest level of government in China's political hierarchy after the central level.
The boundaries of most of these territorial entities (Anhui, Gansu, Hainan, Guangdong, Hebei, Guizhou, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Jiangsu, Henan, Liaoning, Qinghai, Hunan, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Fujian, Hubei, Yunnan and Zhejiang) were identified in the era of ancient dynasties and formed on the basis of cultural and geographical features. They are governed by a provincial committee chaired by a secretary who is personally in charge of the province.
Municipalities
Municipalities are departments of government of the largest cities, independent of the leadership of the province, and in the administrative divisionChina, they are equal to their provincial counterparts.
Municipalities include metropolitan areas such as Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin. Their jurisdiction includes the entire territory of the city with the surrounding rural areas. The mayor here has the highest authority, while at the same time serving as deputy secretary of the Communist Party, being a member of the people's representatives of the National Assembly (the country's highest legislative body).
Autonomous Regions of China
Another important link in the administrative division of China are autonomous regions. They are usually formed along cultural lines and have a higher population of a certain ethnic group compared to other areas of China (Guangxi, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and Tibet). Autonomous regions are similar to provinces in that they also have their own governing body, while having greater legislative power.
Special Administrative Regions
In the administrative division of China, special administrative regions, unlike other first-level administrative divisions, consist of separate Chinese territories: Hong Kong and Macau. These regions fall under the authority of the central government, although they are located outside the mainland. They are granted a higher level of autonomy with their own governments, multi-party legislatures, currency, immigration policy and legal system. This is quite unique inworld practice, the phenomenon is called the principle of "one China, two systems".
Controversial claims over Taiwan
Located southeast of the Chinese mainland, opposite Fujian Province, Taiwan is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Taiwan Strait to the west. It includes the islands of Taiwan, Penghu and 80 other small neighboring islands and islets. In 1981, China (in this context, the People's Republic of China) unsuccessfully proposed to Taiwan (the country's official name is the Republic of China) reunification as a special administrative region (following the example of Hong Kong and Macau) in order to recognize the PRC as the sole representative of the Celestial Empire in relations with other countries. This confusion of names appeared in 1949, after the civil war mentioned above, and since then the two Chinas have been side by side.
In the PRC, speaking of Taiwan, it is forbidden to use its official name, and therefore the definition of "Chinese Taipei" is used. However, supporters of an independent Taiwan do not agree with this, believing that the label "Taiwan, China" is offensive to their country, although at the same time there are many supporters of reunification.
