A sub-provincial divisions (simplified Chinese: 副省级行政区; traditional Chinese: 副省級行政區; pinyin: fùshĕngjí chéngshì) (or deputy-provincial divisions) in the People's Republic of China, is like a prefecture-level city that is ruled by a province, but is administered independently in regard to economy and law.

Sub-provincial divisions, similar to prefectural-level divisions, an administrative unit comprising, typically, a main central urban area, and its much larger surrounding rural area containing many smaller cities, towns and villages.

The mayor or chairman of a sub-provincial division is equal in status to a vice-governor of a province. Its status is below that of municipalities, which are independent and equivalent to provinces, but above other, regular prefecture-level divisions, which are completely ruled by their provinces.

Map of sub-provincial level entries in the People's Republic of China[link]

Map of Sub-provincial level entries in the People's Republic of China

Sub-provincial city[link]

The original 15 sub-provincial cities were created on February 25, 1994 by the Central Organization Committee out of prefecture-level cities. They are sometimes the capitals of the provinces in which they are located.

Currently, there are 15 sub-provincial cities:^[1]

Chongqing was formerly a sub-provincial city of Sichuan until 1997, when it was made a municipality by splitting it out of Sichuan altogether. Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps also has the powers of a sub-provincial city.

Guangzhou, Harbin and Chengdu are the largest sub-provincial cities; each has a population exceeding that of the independent municipality of Tianjin while, both Harbin and Chengdu have a bigger area then Tianjin.

Proposed Sub-provincial cities[link]

• Kunming, Yunnan
• Wenzhou, Zhejiang

Sub-provincial new areas[link]

Additionally, the head of Pudong New Area of Shanghai and Binhai New Area of Tianjin, which is a county-level district, is given sub-provincial powers.

Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture[link]

Sub-provincial Municipal Conference[link]

The National Standing Committee of Sub-provincial Municipal People's Congresses' Chairmen Joint Conference (全国副省级城市人大常委会主任联席会议) are attended by the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of all sub-provincial cities. It was proposed by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress in 1985. The conferences:

1. Guangzhou (26 February – 4 March 1985)
2. Harbin (27–31 August 1985)
3. Wuhan (20–24 May 1986)
4. Dalian (10–14 August 1987)
5. Xi'an (9–13 September 1988)
6. Shenyang (13–17 August 1990)
7. Chongqing (22–26 November 1991)
8. Qingdao (3–7 May 1992)
9. Shenzhen (25–28 October 1993)
10. Nanjing (1–4 November 1994)
11. Changchun (21–24 May 1995)
12. Hangzhou (20–24 October 1996)
13. Jinan (19–25 October 1997)
14. Xiamen (12–16 October 1998)
15. Ningbo (17–20 October 1999)
16. Chengdu (10–13 October 2000)
17. Guangzhou (30 October - 3 November 2001)
18. Harbin (23–26 July 2002)
19. Wuhan (8–12 October 2003)
20. Shenyang (31 August - 6 September 2004)
21. Qingdao (6–8 September 2005)
22. Shenzhen (20–23 October 2006)
23. Dalian (14–16 August 2007)
24. Xi'an (13–16 April 2009)
25. Nanjing (18–20 October 2010)
26. Changchun (22–25 August 2011)

References[link]