Villages of the People's Republic of China

formally Village level divisions
Simplified Chinese	村级行政区
Traditional Chinese	村級行政區
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Cūn Jí Xíngzhèngqū
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	村
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Cūn

This article is part of the series: Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China

Provincial level Provinces (省; shěng) Autonomous regions (自治区; zìzhìqū) Municipalities (直辖市; zhíxiáshì) Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国特别行政区/中華人民共和國特别行政區; tèbié xíngzhèngqū)

Sub-provincial level Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures (副省级自治州; fùshěngjí zìzhìzhōu) Sub-provincial cities (副省级城市; fùshěngjí chéngshì) Sub-provincial new areas (副省级市辖新区; fùshěngjí shìxiá xīnqū)

Prefectural level Prefectures (地区; dìqū) Autonomous prefectures (自治州; zīzhìzhōu) Prefecture-level cities (地级市; dìjíshì) Leagues (盟; méng)

Sub-prefecture-level Sub-prefectural-level cities (副地级市; fùdìjíshì)

County level Counties (县; xiàn) Autonomous counties (自治县; zìzhìxiàn) County-level cities (县级市; xiànjíshì) City districts (市辖区; shìxiáqū) Ethnic districts Banners (旗; qí) Autonomous banners (自治旗; zìzhìqí) Forestry areas (林区; línqū) Special districts (特区; tèqū)

Township level Townships (乡; xiāng) Ethnic townships (民族乡; mínzúxiāng) Towns (镇; zhèn) Subdistricts (街道办事处; jiēdào bànshìchù) Sumus (苏木; sūmù) Ethnic sumus (民族苏木; mínzúsūmù) District public offices (abolishing) (区公所; qū gōngsuǒ)

Village level Village Committees (村民委员会; cūnmín-wěiyuánhùi) Neighborhood Committees (居民委员会; jūmín-wěiyuánhùi)

History of the political divisions of China view · talk · edit

A village in Yangxin County, Hubei

Village or Village level divisions in China serves as a fundamental organizational unit for its rural population (census, mail system). Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal like in the West, but have defined boundaries and designated heads (one per area). In 2000, China's densely populated villages (>100 persons/ha) had a population greater than 500 million and covered more than 2 million square kilometers, or more than 20% of China's total area (Ellis 2004).

In general, urban areas are organized into neighborhood committees (simplified Chinese: 居民委员会; traditional Chinese: 居民委員會; pinyin: jūmínwěiyuánhuì), while rural areas are organized into village committees (simplified Chinese: 村民委员会; traditional Chinese: 村民委員會; pinyin: cūnmínwěiyuánhuì) or villager groups (simplified Chinese: 村民小组; traditional Chinese: 村民小組; pinyin: cūnmínxiǎozǔ). A "village" in this case can either be a natural village (Chinese: 自然村; pinyin: zìráncūn), one that spontaneously and naturally exists, or an administrative village (Chinese: 行政村; pinyin: xíngzhèngcūn), which is a bureaucratic entity.

Instead of neighborhood committees and sub-districts, a city could have:

• neighborhood (simplified Chinese: 居民区; traditional Chinese: 居民區; pinyin: jūmínqū)
• community (simplified Chinese: 社区; traditional Chinese: 社區; pinyin: shèqū)

See also

• Urban village (China)
• Organic Law of Village Committees

References

• Ellis, E.C. 2004. Long-term ecological changes in the densely populated rural landscapes of China. Pages 303-320 in R. S. DeFries, G. P. Asner, and R. A. Houghton, editors. Ecosystems and Land Use Change. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC. download the paper

External links

The building housing the local village committee and other government offices and organizations in Baisha Village, Xiqiuwan Township, Badong County, Hubei

• Chinese Village Government Information Network
• Photo-essay on Scenic Chinese Villages
• Two Chinese Villages, Two Views of Rural Poverty
• Long-term changes in China's village landscapes are changing the world