Political divisions of China

There are twenty-three provinces, four municipalities, five autonomous regions and two special administrative regions in the People's Republic of China. Provinces are pronounced Shěng in Chinese Pinyin. Provinces and autonomous regions are subdivided into prefectures and sub-provincial cities.

The island of Taiwan is claimed as a province by the People's Republic of China (PRC), but is not under their control.  Taiwan is an island known as Republic of China (Taiwan).

 Provinces 
There are 23 provinces in the People's Republic of China.
 Anhui
 Fujian
 Gansu
 Guangdong
 Guizhou
 Hainan
 Hebei
 Heilongjiang
 Henan
 Hubei
 Hunan
 Jiangsu
 Jiangxi
 Jilin
 Liaoning
 Qinghai
 Shaanxi
 Shandong
 Shanxi
 Sichuan
 Taiwan*
 Yunnan
 Zhejiang

* The island of Taiwan is claimed as a province by the People's Republic of China (PRC), but it is not under their control. Taiwan is an island known as Republic of China (Taiwan).

 Municipalities 
There are 4 municipalities in the People's Republic of China. "Municipality" is the common English name for the Chinese zhíxiáshì, meaning a city directly controlled by the national government.
 Beijing, formerly part of Hebei
 Tianjin, formerly part of Hebei
 Shanghai, formerly part of Jiangsu
 Chongqing, formerly part of Sichuan

 Autonomous Regions 
There are 5 autonomous regions in the People's Republic of China. "Autonomous region" is the common English name for the Chinese zìzhìqū, meaning an area with greater levels of self-government to accommodate minority groups.
 Xinjiang, for the Uygurs and other Turkic peoples
 Tibet, for Tibetans
 Inner Mongolia, for Mongolians
 Guangxi, for the Zhuang
 Ningxia, for the Hui

 Special Administrative Regions 
There are 2 special administrative regions in the People's Republic of China. "Special administrative region" is the common English name for the Chinese tèbié xíngzhèng qū, meaning an area under special administration as a result of treaties that returned former European colonies to Chinese control.
 Hong Kong, formerly a British colony
 Macau, formerly a Portuguese colony