This table summarizes the divisions of the area administered by the People's Republic of China as of December 31, 2005.
| Level | Name | Types |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Province level 省级行政区 |
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| 2 | Prefecture level 地级行政区 |
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| 3 | County level 县级行政区 |
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| 4 | Township level 乡级行政区 |
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| 5 | Village level (informal) 村级自治组织 |
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Township level subdivisions
- 14,677 Townships (乡; xiāng)— in smaller rural areas division they are divided into this subject
- Ethnic Townships (民族乡; mínzúxiāng)— in a small one or more designated ethnic minorities rural areas division they are divided into this subject
- 19,522 Towns (镇; zhèn)— in larger rural areas division they are divided into this subject
-
6,152 Subdistricts (街道办事处; jiēdàobànshìchù)— in a small urban areas division they are divided into this subject.
"街道办事处" is usually shorted to be "街道",or "办事处", which may give rise to ambiguity because someone may take it as "street" or "representive office" instead of subdistrict. - 11 District Public Offices (区公所; qūgōngsuǒ)— are a vestigial level of government. These once represented an extra level of government between the county- and township-levels. Today there are very few of these remaining and they are gradually being phased out.
- 181 Sumus (苏木; sūmù)— are the same as townships, but are unique to Inner Mongolia.
- 1 Ethnic Sumus (民族苏木; mínzúsūmù)— are the same as ethnic townships, but are unique to Inner Mongolia.
