View source for Autonomous administrative divisions of China

{{Short description|Divisions designated as autonomous within the People's Republic of China}}
{{Distinguish|Special administrative regions of China|Autonomous regions of China}}
{{See also|Ancient Chinese states|Tributary system of China|l1 = Chinese vassal states|l2 = chinese tributary kingdoms}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2007}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
[[File:Autonomous rule divisions in China.png|thumb|420px|Map of all minority regions under autonomous rule designated by the Central Government
{{legend|#78D2FF|Autonomous Region}}
{{legend|#78FFD2|Autonomous Prefecture}}
{{legend|#FFA850|Autonomous County}}
{{legend|#B9A03A|Autonomous Banner}}
{{legend|#FF0000|Ethnic district}}]]

Chinese '''autonomous administrative divisions''' are associated with one or more [[ethnic minorities in China|ethnic minorities]] that are designated as autonomous within the People's Republic of China. These areas are recognized in the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China]] and are nominally given a number of rights not accorded to other [[administrative divisions of China]]. For example, [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] minorities in autonomous regions are granted rights and support not given to the [[Han Chinese]], such as fiscal and medical subsidies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/Vol1No3_LaiHongyi.pdf |title=China's Ethnic Policies and Challenges |access-date=17 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217072642/http://www.eai.nus.edu.sg/Vol1No3_LaiHongyi.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2013 }}</ref>

== History ==
Autonomous regions, prefectures, counties, and banners were established after communist takeover, following Soviet practice. At first, the nomenclature of these autonomous areas were somewhat confused, with autonomous regions appearing at the province, prefecture, county, and township levels. Eventually the nomenclature was standardized to the conventions used today.

The first autonomous region to be established was [[Inner Mongolia]], created within communist-held territory in 1947, two years before the establishment of the People's Republic. [[Xinjiang]] was converted from a province to an autonomous region in 1955. [[Guangxi]] and [[Ningxia]] followed in 1958, and the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]] was formally established in 1965.

== Administrative divisions ==
=== Autonomous regions ===
The PRC's autonomous administrative divisions may be found in the first (or top) to third levels of its national [[administrative division]]s thus:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Level
! Type !! [[Chinese language|Chinese]] !! [[Pinyin]] !! Number [[Wikipedia:As of|as of]] June 2005
|-
|align="right"| province (1)&nbsp;&nbsp;
| [[Autonomous regions of China|Autonomous regions]] || {{lang|zh-Hans|自治区}} || {{Transliteration|zh|Zìzhìqū}} || 5
|-
|align="right"| prefecture (2)&nbsp;&nbsp;
| [[Autonomous prefecture]]s || {{lang|zh|自治州}} || {{Transliteration|zh|Zìzhìzhōu}} || 30
|-
|rowspan="2" align="right"| county (3)&nbsp;&nbsp;
| [[Autonomous county|Autonomous counties]] || {{lang|zh-Hans|自治县}} || {{Transliteration|zh|Zìzhìxiàn}} || 117
|-
| [[Banners of Inner Mongolia#Autonomous banners|Autonomous banners]] || {{lang|zh|自治旗}} || {{Transliteration|zh|Zìzhìqí}} || 3
|}

===Statistics===
Of the five autonomous regions, only [[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]] has an absolute majority (>50%) of the designated ethnic group, since [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] make up 90% of the population as of 2011. [[Xinjiang]] is more ethnically diverse, with the titular [[Uyghurs]] making up a plurality at 46%, [[Han Chinese|Han]] making up 39%, and various other ethnic groups making up the remaining 15% as of 2015. The remaining three autonomous regions have absolute majorities of Han people, the most populous ethnic group in China.

Below is the detailed composition of all autonomous administrative divisions of in various provinces, according to the '<nowiki/>''China Statistical Yearbook''' (中国统计年鉴, 2013 edition), data as of the end of 2012:
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:right"
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" |Provincial-level ethnic autonomous areas
! colspan="3" |Prefecture-level ethnic autonomous areas
! colspan="3" |County-level ethnic autonomous areas
! colspan="3" |Population in ethnic autonomous areas
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" |Subtotal
!Prefecture-level cities
!Autonomous prefectures
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" |Subtotal
!County-level cities
!Autonomous counties (banners)
!Total population (10,000)
!Ethnic minority population (10,000)
!Percentage of ethnic minorities (%)
|-
!Nationwide
|5||77||31||30||702||68||120||18762.34||9003.47||47.99
|-
![[Hebei Province]]
| || || || ||6|| ||6||207.62||124.10||59.77
|-
![[Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region]]
|1||12||9|| ||101||11||3||2489.85||542.24||21.78
|-
![[Liaoning Province]]
| || || || ||8|| ||8||332.33||167.35||50.36
|-
![[Jilin Province]]
| ||1|| ||1||11||6||3||333.29||114.20||34.27
|-
![[Heilongjiang Province]]
| || || || ||1|| ||1||25.22||5.25||20.82
|-
![[Zhejiang Province]]
| || || || ||1|| ||1||17.31||1.91||11.06
|-
![[Hubei Province]]
| ||1|| ||1||10||2||2||464.22||264.16||56.90
|-
![[Hunan Province]]
| ||1|| ||1||15||1||7||520.65||401.09||77.04
|-
![[Guangdong Province]]
| || || || ||3|| ||3||49.56||18.25||36.82
|-
![[Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region]]
|1||14||14|| ||109||7||12||5240.00||1988.00||37.94
|-
![[Hainan Province]]
| || || || ||6|| ||6||179.36||91.51||51.02
|-
![[Chongqing Municipality]]
| || || || ||4|| ||4||273.79||194.52||71.05
|-
![[Sichuan Province]]
| ||3|| ||3||51||1||4||759.54||460.50||60.63
|-
![[Guizhou Province]]
| ||3|| ||3||46||4||11||1712.86||1008.02||58.85
|-
![[Yunnan Province]]
| ||8|| ||8||78||7||29||2249.73||1272.70||56.57
|-
![[Tibet Autonomous Region]]
|1||7||1|| ||74||1|| ||308.00||282.84||91.83
|-
![[Gansu Province]]
| ||2|| ||2||21||2||7||352.29||207.81||58.99
|-
![[Qinghai Province]]
| ||6|| ||6||35||2||7||366.53||238.50||65.07
|-
![[Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region]]
|1||5||5|| ||21||2|| ||647.19||235.03||36.32
|-
![[Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region]]
|1||14||2||5||101||22||6||2233.00||1385.49||62.05
|}{{Multiple image
| align             = center
| direction         = horizontal
| width             = 350
| image1            = Ethnic minorities areas in Yunnan.png
| caption1          = Major Autonomous areas within Yunnan (excluding [[Hui people|Hui]])
| image2            = Ethnic minorities areas in Guizhou.png
| caption2          = Major Autonomous areas within Guizhou (excluding Hui)
| total_width       = 800
| image3            = 中国各自治地区及其指定的少数民族 China's Autonomous Regions and its Designated Ethnic Minority.png
| caption3          = China's Autonomous Regions and their designated ethnic minority
}}

===Ethnic area===
Although not named as autonomous areas, some third-level settlements and areas that are identified as [[County-level city|county-level cities]] and [[county-level district]]s enjoy the same autonomy as autonomous areas. At the fourth ("township") level, 1 [[ethnic sum]] (the [[Evenk Ethnic Sum]]) and over 270 [[ethnic township]]s also exist, but are not considered to be autonomous and do not enjoy the laws pertaining to the larger ethnic autonomous areas.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Level
! Type !! [[Chinese language|Chinese]] !! [[Pinyin]] !! Number
|-
|align="right"| county (3)&nbsp;&nbsp;
| [[Districts of the People's Republic of China#Ethnic districts|Ethnic districts in City]] || {{lang|zh-Hans|城市民族区}} || {{Transliteration|zh|Chéngshì Mínzú qū}}||5
|-
|rowspan="2" align="right"| township (4)&nbsp;&nbsp;
| [[Ethnic township]] (Ethnic town)* || {{lang|zh-hans|民族乡}} ({{lang|zh-hans|民族镇}})* || {{Transliteration|zh|Mínzú xiāng (Mínzú zhèn)}}*||1,092 township (15 town)
|-
| [[Ethnic sum]] || {{lang|zh-hans|民族苏木}} || {{Transliteration|zh|Mínzú sūmù}}|| 1
|-
|align="right"| villages (5)&nbsp;&nbsp;
| [[Ethnic villages of the People's Republic of China|Ethnic villages]] (Ethnic gacha) ||{{lang|zh|民族村}} ({{lang|zh|民族嘎查}}) || {{Transliteration|zh|Mínzú cūn (Mínzú gāchá)}} ||?
|}

As these autonomous areas were created by the PRC, they are not recognised by the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] on [[Taiwan]] which ruled [[Mainland China]] before the PRC's creation. However, in 2001, the ROC designated the [[Indigenous Area (Taiwan)|Taiwanese indigenous areas]] in southern parts of the island.

== Nomenclature ==
The names of most of the PRC's autonomous areas are made from linking together:
* the name of a geographical area;
* the name or names of the predominant ethnic minority or minorities;
* the word "autonomous"; and
* a type of administrative division.
For instance:
{|class="wikitable"
|- style="font-size:90%; text-align=left;"
!width=50px| Level !! Geographical&nbsp;area !! rowspan="5" | + !! Ethnic&nbsp;name/s !! rowspan="5" | + !! "Autonomous" !! rowspan="5" | + !! Admin.&nbsp;division !! rowspan="5" | =
!style=text-align:left| Result
|-
| 1 || [[Guangxi]] || [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]] || Autonomous || Region 
|align=left| [[Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region]]
|-
| 2 ||[[Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture|Ili]]||[[Kazakhs|Kazakh]]|| Autonomous || Prefecture 
|align=left|[[Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture]]
|-
| 3 ||[[Changbai Korean Autonomous County|Changbai]]||[[Koreans in China|Korean]]|| Autonomous || County 
|align=left|[[Changbai Korean Autonomous County]]
|-
| 3 ||[[Morin Dawa]]||[[Daur people|Daur]]|| Autonomous || Banner 
|align=left|[[Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner]]
|}
<!-- Reviewed to here, 6 September 2006 -->
In the Chinese name of the administrative area, the nationality name always includes the suffix "{{linktext|lang=zh|族}}" ("nationality"), unless the nationality name consists of more than two syllables (''e.g.'' Xinjiang Uyghur/Wéiwú'ěr AR) or the geographical name contains the nationality name (''e.g.'' Inner Mongolia and Tibet ARs). This distinction is not reflected in translation into English.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Some autonomous areas have more than one specified minority, which tend to be listed in the name of the prefecture, creating rather long names. Two autonomous counties simply use "various nationalities" in their names as placeholders, rather than listing out all of their designated ethnicities:

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Full name !! Geographical !! Nationality !! Administrative
|-
| [[Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture]] || Enshi || [[Tujia people|Tujia]] and [[Miao people|Miao]] || Autonomous Prefecture
|-
| [[Shuangjiang Lahu, Va, Blang and Dai Autonomous County]] || Shuangjiang || [[Lahu people|Lahu]], [[Wa people|Wa]], [[Blang people|Blang]] and [[Dai people|Dai]] || Autonomous County
|-
| [[Longlin Various Nationalities Autonomous County|Longlin Pan-Ethnicities Autonomous County]] || Longlin || Various Ethnicities ([[Miao people|Miao]], [[Yi people|Yi]] and [[Gelao people|Gelao]]) || Autonomous County
|-
| [[Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County|Longsheng Pan-Ethnicities Autonomous County]] || Longsheng || Various Ethnicities ([[Kam people|Kam]], [[Yao people (Asia)|Yao]], [[Miao people|Miao]]) || Autonomous County
|}

A few autonomous areas break the regular nomenclature pattern, because the name of the nationality is already contained within the geographical name, or because there is no geographical name:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Full name !! Geographical !! Nationality !! Administrative
|-
| [[Tibet Autonomous Region]] || Tibet || ([[Tibetan people|Tibetan]]) || Autonomous Region
|-
| [[Inner Mongolia|Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region]]|| Inner Mongolia || ([[Ethnic Mongols in China|Mongol]]) || Autonomous Region
|-
| [[Dongxiang Autonomous County]] || — || [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]] || Autonomous County
|-
| [[Evenki Autonomous Banner]] || — || [[Evenks]] || Autonomous Banner
|-
| [[Oroqin Autonomous Banner|Oroqen Autonomous Banner]] || — || [[Oroqen people|Oroqen]] || Autonomous Banner
|}

== Legal basis ==
{{Administrative levels and divisions of China sidebar}}
Autonomous regions, prefectures, counties, and [[Banners of Inner Mongolia|banners]] are covered under Section 6 of Chapter 3 (Articles 111–122) of the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China]], and with more detail under the [[Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy]] ({{lang|zh-Hans|《中华人民共和国民族区域自治法》}}). The constitution states that the head of government of each autonomous areas must be of the ethnic group as specified by the autonomous area (such as [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] or [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]]). The constitution also guarantees a range of rights including: independence of finance, independence of economic planning, independence of arts, science and culture, organization of local police, and use of local language. In addition, the head of government of each [[autonomous regions of China|autonomous region]] is known as a "chairman", unlike [[provinces of China|provinces]], where they are known as "governors".

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Autonomous administrative divisions of China| ]]

[[bg:Автономни региони в КНР]]