Greater administrative area
Greater administrative areas () were early top-level administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China that directly governed provinces and municipalities. These were the largest-ever political divisions of China and were controlled by the Central People's Government. They were dissolved between June and November 1954. List. The greater administrative areas originated from the districts governed by governors-general () established during the late Qing dynasty. The six greater administrative areas were: History. The highest officials of the greater administrative areas were known as chairmen (). (From this historical origin derives the term still used today for  the top officials of China's autonomous regions.) North China Area was the first to be abandoned on October 31, 1949, given the People's Republic by now had been established with Beijing as capital city. The provinces it governed were thenceforth directly controlled by the North China Branch () of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government instead. In May 1952, control was again transferred, this time to the North China Administrative Council () of the Government Administration Council. Several other large-scale entities governed parts of China's territory during this time and were equivalent to greater  administrative areas: Except the Northeast, which was governed by a People's Government, the areas' highest government bodies were Military and Administrative Committees (), which were replaced by administrative councils in November 1952. Several domains in China today retain the same structure of geographic divisions as the GAAs. Military administrative regions, the divisions of some major banks, and civil aviation districts are still divided in the same form as the greater administrative areas.