# Direct-administered municipality

A direct-administered municipality (直辖市; Zhíxiáshì; lit. 'direct-administered city'; commonly known as municipality) is a provincial-level administrative division in China. The direct-administered municipalities are directly affiliated to the central government. There are four municipalities in China: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin.
Although being as a city by name, a Chinese municipality is more than a city in a traditional sense. It is equivalent to a province as it usually composed of a central urban area and a number of much larger surrounding suburban and rural areas.

## History

During the Republic of China, 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. 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 control. These cities were first called special municipalities/cities (特别市; tèbiéshì), but were later renamed Yuan-controlled municipalities (院辖市; yuànxiáshì), then direct-controlled municipalities (直辖市; zhíxiáshì) by the Central Government of the People's Republic of China.
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Anshan, Benxi, and Fushun were also made municipalities, while Qingdao, Dalian, and Harbin were reduced to provincial municipalities. Hankou was merged into Wuhan, which became a municipality of its own. Hence, there remained 12 municipalities. In November 1952, Nanjing was reduced to a provincial municipality in Jiangsu. In March 1953, Lüda, which had resulted from the merger of Dalian and Lüshun in December 1950, was made a municipality. In July 1953, Harbin was restored to municipality status, whereas Changchun acquired that status for the first time. 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 sub-provincial cities; many of them became capitals of the provinces they were in. Only Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin remained municipalities, until Chongqing was restored as a municipality in 1997 with a much enlarged area. Tianjin was also temporarily reverted to sub-provincial city status between 1958 and 1967.

## Position in hierarchy

Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in the PRC. Some cities of lower levels may also refer to themselves as municipalities in the English language.
Three levels of cities in the People's Republic of China:
* Municipalities (直辖市; 直轄市; zhíxiáshì);
* Prefecture-level cities (地级市; 地級市; dìjíshì), including sub-provincial cities; and,
* County-level cities (县级市; 縣級市; xiànjíshì), including sub-prefectural cities.

## Administration

In municipalities, the highest ranking government official is the mayor. The mayor is also a delegate in the National People's Congress (the legislature) and deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Municipal Committee. However, the highest administrative authority in the municipality belongs to the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary.

## Current municipalities

| ISO | Division name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Abbr. | Population | Area (km$^2$) | Divisions | City seat | Origin Province (split date) | Origin Prefecture | Origin County |
| CN-11 | Beijing | 北京市 | Běijīng Shì | 京 jīng | 19,612,368 | 16,801 | List (16 districts) | Tongzhou | Hebei (Oct. 1949) | Shuntian | Daxing |
| CN-12 | Tianjin | 天津市 | Tiānjīn Shì | 津 jīn | 12,938,224 | 11,760 | List (16 districts) | Hexi | Hebei (Jan. 1967) | Tianjin | Tianjin |
| CN-31 | Shanghai | 上海市 | Shànghǎi Shì | 沪 hù | 23,019,148 | 6,340 | List (16 districts) | Huangpu | Jiangsu (Mar. 1927) | Songjiang | Shanghai |
| CN-50 | Chongqing | 重庆市 | Chóngqìng Shì | 渝 yú | 28,846,170 (City Core 16,240,026) | 82,300 (City Core 6,268) | List (26 districts, 8 counties, & 4 autonomous counties) (City Core: 19 districts) | Yuzhong | Sichuan (May 1997) | Chongqing | Ba |

### Government

| Name | Communist Party | Communist Party | Executive | Executive | Legislature | Legislature |
| Name | Party Committee | Party Secretary | Government | Mayor | City Council | No. of seats |
| Beijing | Beijing Municipal Party Committee | Yin Li | Beijing Municipal People's Government | Yin Yong | Beijing Municipal People's Congress | 755 |
| Tianjin | Tianjin Municipal Party Committee | Chen Min'er | Tianjin Municipal People's Government | Zhang Gong | Tianjin Municipal People's Congress | 706 |
| Shanghai | Shanghai Municipal Party Committee | Chen Jining | Shanghai Municipal People's Government | Gong Zheng | Shanghai Municipal People's Congress | 855 |
| Chongqing | Chongqing Municipal Party Committee | Yuan Jiajun | Chongqing Municipal People's Government | Hu Henghua | Chongqing Municipal People's Congress | 860 |

## Former ROC and PRC municipalities

| Name | Simplified Chinese | Pinyin | Abbr. | City seat | Administration period | Original province | Original prefecture | Original county |
| Jingdu | 京都市 | Jīngdū Shì | 京 jīng | Dongcheng | 1921–1927 | Zhili (present province: Hebei) | Shuntian | Daxing |
| Jingu | 津沽市 | Jīngū Shì | 津 jīn | Heping | 1921–1927 | Zhili (present province: Hebei) | Tianjin | Tianjin |
| Songhu | 淞沪市 | Sōnghù Shì | 沪 hù | Huangpu | 1921–1927 | Jiangsu | Songjiang | Shanghai |
| Qingdao | 青岛市 | Qīngdǎo Shì | 青 qīng | Shinan | 1921–1927, 1929–1949 | Shandong | Jiaozhou | Jiao |
| Harbin | 哈尔滨市 | Hārbīn Shì | 哈 hā | Nangang | 1921–1927, 1947–1949, 1953–1954 | Songjiang (present province: Heilongjiang) | Binzhou | Bin |
| Hankou | 汉口市 | Hànkǒu Shì | 汉 hàn | Jiang'an | 1921–1927, 1929–1931, 1947–1949 | Hubei | Hanyang | Hanyang |
| Wuxi | 无锡市 | Wúxī Shì | 锡 xī | Binhu | 1921–1927 | Jiangsu | Changzhou | Wuxi |
| Hangzhou | 杭州市 | Hángzhōu Shì | 杭 háng | Gongshu | 1921–1927 | Zhejiang | Hangzhou | Yuhang |
| Ningbo | 宁波市 | Níngbō Shì | 甬 yǒng | Yinzhou | 1921–1927 | Zhejiang | Ningbo | Yin |
| Anqing | 安庆市 | Ānqìng Shì | 安 ān | Daguan | 1921–1927 | Anhui | Anqing | Huaining |
| Nanchang | 南昌市 | Nánchāng Shì | 洪 hóng | Donghu | 1921–1927 | Jiangxi | Nanchang | Nanchang |
| Wuchang | 武昌市 | Wǔchāng Shì | 武 wǔ | Wuchang | 1921–1927 | Hubei | Wuchang | Jiangxia |
| Guangzhou | 广州市 | Guǎngzhōu Shì | 穗 suì | Yuexiu | 1921–1927, 1930, 1947–1954 | Guangdong | Guangzhou | Panyu Nanhai |
| Wuzhou | 梧州市 | Wúzhōu Shì | 梧 wú | Changzhou | 1921–1927 | Guangxi | Wuzhou | Cangwu |
| Nanjing | 南京市 | Nánjīng Shì | 宁 níng | Xuanwu | 1927–1952 | Jiangsu | Jiangning | Jiangning |
| Xi'an | 西安市 | Xī'ān Shì | 鎬 hào | Weiyang | 1927–1954 | Shaanxi | Xi'an | Chang'an |
| Wuhan | 武汉市 | Wǔhàn Shì | 汉 hàn | Jiang'an | 1927–1929, 1949 | Hubei | Hanyang Wuchang | Hanyang Jiangxia |
| Beiping | 北平市 | Jīngdū Shì | 平 píng | Dongcheng | 1928–1949 | Zhili (present province: Hebei) | Shuntian | Daxing |
| Dalian | 大连市 | Dàlián Shì | 连 lián | Xigang | 1947–1949 | Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning) | Jinzhou | Ninghai |
| Shenyang | 沈阳市 | Shěnyáng Shì | 沈 shěn | Shenhe | 1947–1954 | Liaoxi (present province: Liaoning) | Fengtian | Fengtian |
| Anshan | 鞍山市 | Ānshān Shì | 鞍 ān | Tiedong | 1949–1954 | Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning) | Liaoyang | Haicheng Liaoyang |
| Benxi | 本溪市 | Běnxī Shì | 本 běn | Pingshan | 1949–1954 | Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning) | Fengtian | Benxi |
| Fushun | 抚顺市 | Fǔshùn Shì | 抚 fǔ | Xinfu | 1949–1954 | Andong/Liaodong (present province: Liaoning) | Fengtian | Fushun |
| Lüda | 旅大市 | Lǚdà Shì | 旅 lǚ | Xigang | 1950–1954 | Lüda (present province: Liaoning) | Jinzhou | Ninghai |
| Changchun | 长春市 | Chángchūn Shì | 春 chūn | Nanguan | 1953–1954 | Jilin | Changchun | Changchun |