roundaboutthere

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Political divisions of China

The People's Republic of China has administrative control over twenty-two provinces; the government of the PRC considers Taiwan to be its twenty-third region. Apart from provinces, there are five independent regions, each with a designated minority group; four municipalities; and two Special Administrative Regions that enjoy considerable autonomy.

The twenty-two provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities can be jointly referred to as "mainland China", a term which usually excludes Hong Kong and Macau.