Direct-controlled municipality
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Direct-controlled municipality (直辖市 zhíxiáshì) is the highest level classificiation for cities used by Chinese governments, with status equal to that of the provinces. The People's Republic of China (PRC) on mainland China and the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan adopt this system with some variations. Geographically and culturally, many of the municipalities are enclaves in the middle of provinces. Some occur in strategic positions in between provinces. Current municipalities of PRC are Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing, and current municipalities of the ROC are Taipei and Kaohsiung.
Mainland Chinese municipalities can be quite large. All four municipalities extend far beyond their urban areas into the surrounding areas, encompassing towns, villages, farmland, hills, and other areas that are much larger than the urban area. The largest municipality, Chongqing, is larger in size than the smallest province, Hainan and more than 2 times bigger than Taiwan.
Taiwanese municipalities are smaller than their urban areas. The urban area of Taipei and Kaohsiung municipalities spill out of their borders into Taipei County and Kaohsiung County, respectively.
For information on the administrative structure of mainland China and how municipalities fit within it, see political divisions of China. For similar information about Taiwan, see Administrative divisions of the Republic of China.
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In mainland Chinese municipalities, the highest ranking government official is the Mayor. The mayor is also a delegate in the National People's Congress (the legislature).[1] and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Municipal Committee. However, the highest administrative authority in the municipality belongs to the Secretary of the CPC Municipal Committee or Party Secretary.
In Taiwanese municipalities, the Mayor is the highest ranking official in charge. The Mayor is directly elected by the people registered in the municipality for a duration of four years. e.g. Mayor of Taipei.
[edit] Current PRC municipalities
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| Map # | Division name | Trad. | Simp. | Hanyu Pinyin | Postal | Abbr. | ISO[3] | Region | Population | Density (/km²) | Area (km²) | Divisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing | 北京 | 北京 | Běijīng | Peking | 京 jīng | CN-11 | North | 15,810,000 | 941 | 16,800 | List |
| 2 | Tianjin | 天津 | 天津 | Tiānjīn | Tientsin | 津 jīn | CN-12 | East | 11,519,000 | 980 | 11,305 | List |
| 3 | Chongqing | 重慶 | 重庆 | Chóngqìng | Chungking | 渝 yú | CN-50 | Southwest | 31,442,300 | 382 | 82,300 | List |
| 4 | Shanghai | 上海 | 上海 | Shànghǎi | Shanghai | 沪 hù | CN-31 | East | 18,450,000 | 2,622 | 6,341 | List |
[edit] Current ROC municipalities
| Division name | Trad. | Simp. | Hanyu Pinyin | Tongyong Pinyin | Abbr. | Map | Seal | Population | Density (/km²) | Area (km²) | Divisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taipei | 臺北 | 台北 | Táiběi | Táiběi | 北 běi |  |
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2,622,933 | 9,650.24 | 271.7997 | List |
| Kaohsiung | 高雄 | 高雄 | Gāoxióng | Gaosyóng | 高 Gāo |  |
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1,519,711 | 9,894.42 | 154 | List |
The first municipalities were the 11 cities of Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Hankou (now part of Wuhan), Shenyang, and Harbin when the ROC government ruled the Mainland China. They were established in 1927 soon after they were designated as "cities" during the 1920s. Nominally Dalian was a municipality as well, although it was under Japanese Occupation. These cities were first called special municipalities/cities (特別市), but were later renamed Yuan-controlled municipalities (院轄市), then direct-controlled municipalities (直轄市) by the Central Government.
After the Chinese Communists took over mainland China in 1949 and established the PRC, Anshan, Benxi, and Fushun were made municipalities as well, while Qingdao, Dalian, and Harbin were reduced to provincial municipalities. [5] Hankou was merged to Wuhan. Hence there remained 12 municipalities in mainland China, until Dalian was elevated in 1950. In November 1952, Nanjing was reduced to a provincial municipality. [6]In July 1953, Harbin was restored to municipality status, along with Changchun. [7]Except Beijing and Tianjin, which were under central control, all other municipalities were governed by the greater administrative areas.
In June 1954, 11 of the 14 municipalities were reduced to provincial municipalities; many of them became capitals of the provinces they were in. Only Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin were left, until Chongqing was restored in 1997 with a much enlarged area. Tianjin was also temporarily reverted to province-controlled status around the 1960s.
Two municipalities in Taiwan were created after the ROC government relocated there from the mainland China. Taipei was made a Yuan-controlled municipality in 1967. The same was done for Kaohsiung in 1979. Promotion of Taichung from the provincial city to the third municipality has been proposed but no conclusion has reached. Since 1994, Yuan-controlled municipalities have been officially called direct-control municipalities to emphasize their autonomy. Besides significant political, economic, and cultural development, the ROC law dictates that a municipality must have population of over 1,250,000.
Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in the PRC and ROC. Some cities of lower levels may also refer to themselves as municipalities in the English language. Wikipedia's translation, however, refers to them using the following conventional terms:
Three levels of cities in the People's Republic of China on Mainland China:
- Municipalities
- Prefecture-level cities
- County-level cities
Three levels of cities in the Republic of China on Taiwan:
- Municipalities
- Provincial cities
- County-controlled cities
Korea and Vietnam use equivalent terms for their biggest cities that rank at the topmost level.
Direct-governed cities (직할시; jikhalsi; 直轄市) is a former division in South Korea, and is still used in North Korea. (See Special cities of Korea).
Centrally-governed cities (Thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương; chữ nôm: 城舖直屬中央) are equivalent in status to provinces of Vietnam).
- ^ Chongqing Mayor: Government Must Place Service Above Anything Else
- ^ References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual municipality articles.
- ^ ISO 3166-2:CN ( ISO 3166-2 codes for the provinces of China)
- ^ References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual municipality articles.
- ^ 中华人民共和国行政区划（1949年）
- ^ 中华人民共和国行政区划（1952年）
- ^ 中华人民共和国行政区划（1953年）
