In a similar fashion to the former
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
's
titular nationTitular nation was a term introduced in the Soviet Union to denote nations that give rise to titles of autonomous entities within the union: Soviet republics, autonomous republics, autonomous regions, etc., such as Byelorussian SSR for Belarusians....
s, a number of areas associated with one or more
ethnic minoritiesEthnic minorities in China refer to the non-Han Chinese population in mainland China and Taiwan. The People's Republic of China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority...
are designated as
autonomousAn autonomous area is an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or freedom from an external authority. Typically it is either geographically distinct from the country or is populated by a national minority. Countries that include autonomous areas are often federacies...
within the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
(PRC). These areas are recognized in the
PRC's constitutionThe Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions--those of...
and are nominally given a number of rights not accorded to other
administrative division| align="right" style="background:transparent;"| |align="right"| |}Administrative divisions are divisions of a political division. In other words, they are designated portions of a country. They are also called subnational entities. They are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and...
s. The actual degree of autonomy of such regions is questioned. This is because their authority rests with the Constitution and the Law on Regional Autonomy, requiring leaders to seek prior approval from the National People's Congress (NPC) to pass legislation.
In a similar fashion to the former
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
's
titular nationTitular nation was a term introduced in the Soviet Union to denote nations that give rise to titles of autonomous entities within the union: Soviet republics, autonomous republics, autonomous regions, etc., such as Byelorussian SSR for Belarusians....
s, a number of areas associated with one or more
ethnic minoritiesEthnic minorities in China refer to the non-Han Chinese population in mainland China and Taiwan. The People's Republic of China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups within China in addition to the Han majority...
are designated as
autonomousAn autonomous area is an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or freedom from an external authority. Typically it is either geographically distinct from the country or is populated by a national minority. Countries that include autonomous areas are often federacies...
within the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
(PRC). These areas are recognized in the
PRC's constitutionThe Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions--those of...
and are nominally given a number of rights not accorded to other
administrative division| align="right" style="background:transparent;"| |align="right"| |}Administrative divisions are divisions of a political division. In other words, they are designated portions of a country. They are also called subnational entities. They are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and...
s. The actual degree of autonomy of such regions is questioned. This is because their authority rests with the Constitution and the Law on Regional Autonomy, requiring leaders to seek prior approval from the National People's Congress (NPC) to pass legislation. This is not true for other provinces, which can pass legislation without such prior approval. For this reason, it has been contended that Autonomous regions are in fact "less autonomous."
The PRC's autonomous regions may be found in the first (or top) to third levels of its national
administrative division| align="right" style="background:transparent;"| |align="right"| |}Administrative divisions are divisions of a political division. In other words, they are designated portions of a country. They are also called subnational entities. They are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and...
s thus:
| Level |
| Type | ChineseChinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of languages mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
| PinyinPinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin , is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu means the Chinese language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"...
| Number* |
|---|
| province (1) |
Autonomous regions of China
An autonomous region is a first-level administrative subdivision of People's Republic of China. Like Chinese provinces, an autonomous region has its own local government, but an autonomous region theoretically has more legislative rights. In practice, they only have the right to appoint the...
|
自治区 |
zìzhìqū |
5 |
| prefecture (2) |
Autonomous prefectures of China Autonomous prefectures are one type of Autonomous areas of China, existing at the prefecture level....
|
自治州 |
zìzhìzhōu |
30 |
county (3)
| Autonomous counties of ChinaAutonomous counties and autonomous banners are one kind of Autonomous areas of China.There are 117 autonomous counties and 3 autonomous banners. The latter are found in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the former are found everywhere else. The two are essentially identical except in name....
|
自治县 |
zìzhìxiàn |
|
>-
| Autonomous banners of Chinaqí |-| Mongolian: || Хошуу
khoshuu |-| Manchurian: || Gūsa |}...
| 自治旗
zìzhìqí |
3 |
Although not named as autonomous areas, some third-level settlements and areas that are identified as
county-level citiesA county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
and county-level districts enjoy the same autonomy as autonomous areas. At the fourth ("township") level, 1 ethnic sumu and over 270 ethnic townships also exist, but are not considered to be autonomous and do not enjoy the laws pertaining to the larger ethnic autonomous areas.
As these autonomous areas were created by the PRC, they are not recognised by the
Republic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition and jurisdiction over China into a democratic state with limited international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan and minor islands, though it...
on
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
which ruled
Mainland ChinaMainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China , excluding Hong Kong and Macau, which are under the jurisdiction of the PRC but run on different economic and...
before the PRC's creation.
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";
- a type of administrative division.
For instance:
| Level | Geographical area | + | Ethnic name/s | + | "Autonomous" | + | Admin. division | = |
|---|
Result |
| 1 |
GuangxiThis article is about a region of China. For the sociological concept, see Guānxi.Guangxi is a Zhuang autonomous region of the People's Republic of China....
|
|
ZhuangThe Zhuang are an ethnic group of people who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. Some also live in the Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan provinces. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China...
|
|
Autonomous |
|
Region |
|
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region |
| 2 |
Dehong |
|
Dai The Dai peoples of China is the officially recognized name of several ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture , but by extension can apply to groups in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Burma when Dai is used to mean...
& JingpoThe Jingpho people are an ethnic group who largely inhabit northern Burma . They also form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they numbered 132,143 people in the 2000 census...
|
|
Autonomous |
|
Prefecture |
|
Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in Yunnan province, China.- Geography :...
|
| 3 |
Shizhu |
|
TujiaThe Tujia , with a total population of over 8 million, is the 6th largest ethnic minority in People's Republic of China...
|
|
Autonomous |
|
County |
|
Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, or Shizhu County for short is located in southeastern Chongqing, China...
|
| 3 |
Evenk |
|
EvenksThe Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
|
|
Autonomous |
|
Banner |
|
Evenk Autonomous Banner Evenk Autonomous Banner is an autonomous banner that lies directly south of the urban district of Hailar in the prefecture-level city of Hulunbuir. It has an area of 19.11 km ². According to the 2000 census, there are 146,808 inhabitants with a population density of 7.68 inhabitants per km²...
|
In the Chinese name of the administrative area, the nationality name is always suffixed with -族 ("nationality"), unless both of the following conditions apply: the division is found in
XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
(or
is Xinjiang); the nationality name consists of more than one syllable. This distinction is not reflected in translation into English.
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:
| Full name | Geographical | Nationality | Administrative |
|---|
Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous PrefectureEnshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Enshi Autonomous Prefecture is located in southwesternmost Hubei Province...
|
Enshi |
TujiaThe Tujia , with a total population of over 8 million, is the 6th largest ethnic minority in People's Republic of China...
and MiaoThe Miao are a linguistically and culturally related group of people recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups...
|
Autonomous Prefecture |
| Shuangjiang Lahu, Wa, Blang and Dai Autonomous County |
Shuangjiang |
LahuThe Lahu people are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia and China.They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where about 450,000 live in Yunnan province. An estimated 150,000 live in Burma...
, WaThe Va nationality lives mainly in compact communities in the Ximeng , Cangyuan, Menglian , Gengma , Lincang , Shuangjiang , Zhenkang and Yongde counties in southwestern Yunnan Province of China...
, BlangThe Blang people are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.- Language :...
and DaiThe Dai peoples of China is the officially recognized name of several ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture , but by extension can apply to groups in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Burma when Dai is used to mean...
|
Autonomous County |
| Longlin Various Nationalities Autonomous County Longlin Various Nationalities Autonomous County is an autonomous county, under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Baise, in western Guangxi, China, near the border with Yunnan and Guizhou....
|
Longlin |
Various Nationalities (MiaoThe Miao are a linguistically and culturally related group of people recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups...
, YiThe Yi people are a modern ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand...
and GelaoThe Gelao people are an ethnic group of China and Vietnam. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China....
) |
Autonomous County |
| Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County Longsheng Various Nationalities Autonomous County is a county of Guangxi, China. It is under the administration of Guilin city....
|
Longsheng |
Various Nationalities (DongThe Dong people are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, and are famed for their carpentry skills and unique architecture, in particular a form of covered bridge known as the "wind and rain bridge" . Many of the people are...
, YaoThe Yao nationality is a government classification for various minorities in China. They form one of the 55 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, where they reside in the mountainous terrain of the southwest and south...
, MiaoThe Miao are a linguistically and culturally related group of people recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups...
) |
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:
| Full name | Geographical | Nationality | Administrative |
|---|
Tibet Autonomous RegionThe Tibet Autonomous Region , also called Xizang Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China .Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of...
|
Tibet |
(TibetanThe Tibetan people are indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and China Proper in the East and India, Nepal and Bhutan to the south.-Demographics:...
) |
Autonomous Region |
Inner MongoliaInner Mongolia is a Mongol autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the country's north....
Autonomous Region |
Inner Mongolia |
(MongolEthnic Mongols in China are citizens of the People's Republic of China who are ethnic Mongols. They form one of the 55 ethnic minorities officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. There are approximately 5.8 million ethnic Mongols living in China. Most of them live in Inner Mongolia,...
) |
Autonomous Region |
| Dongxiang Autonomous County Dongxiang Autonomous County is an Autonomous County in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, province of Gansu of the People's Republic of China. With ethnic minority of the Dongxiang....
|
— |
DongxiangThe Dongxiang people are one of 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China...
|
Autonomous County |
| Evenki Autonomous Banner |
— |
EvenksThe Evenks are a Tungusic people of Northern Asia. In Russia, the Evenks are recognized as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 35,527...
|
Autonomous Banner |
| Oroqin Autonomous Banner Oroqin Autonomous Banner is an autonomous banner that lies directly south of the urban district of Hailar in the prefecture-level city of Hulunbuir. It has an area of 60,378 km ². According to the 2000 census, there are 292,097 inhabitants with a population density of 4.84 inhabitants per km²...
|
— |
Oroqin |
Autonomous Banner |
Legal basis
Autonomous regions, prefectures, counties, and banners are covered under Section 6 of Chapter 3 (Articles 111-122) of the
Constitution of the People's Republic of ChinaThe Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the highest law within the People's Republic of China. The current version was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982 with further revisions in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004. Three previous state constitutions--those of...
, and with more detail under the Law of the People's Republic of China on Regional National Autonomy (《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 (
TibetanThe Tibetan people are indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and China Proper in the East and India, Nepal and Bhutan to the south.-Demographics:...
,
UyghurThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China....
, etc). 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 region
An autonomous region is a first-level administrative subdivision of People's Republic of China. Like Chinese provinces, an autonomous region has its own local government, but an autonomous region theoretically has more legislative rights. In practice, they only have the right to appoint the...
is known as a "chairman", unlike provinces, where they are known as "governors".
Demographics
Of the five autonomous regions, only
TibetThe Tibet Autonomous Region , also called Xizang Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China .Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of...
has an absolute majority (>50%) of the designated ethnic group, namely, the
TibetansThe Tibetan people are indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and China Proper in the East and India, Nepal and Bhutan to the south.-Demographics:...
.
XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
has a plurality (<50%) of the designated ethnic group, the
UyghursThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China....
, though this is disputed by Uyghur independence advocates, who claim that the Han Chinese population in Xinjiang has been severely understated. The remaining 3 autonomous regions have absolute majorities of
Han ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and, by most modern definitions, the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92 percent of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98 percent of the population of the Republic of China , 75 percent of the...
, the majority ethnicity of China.
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 MongoliaInner Mongolia is a Mongol autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the country's north....
, created within communist-held territory in 1947, two years before the establishment of the People's Republic.
XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
was converted from a province to an autonomous region in 1955.
GuangxiThis article is about a region of China. For the sociological concept, see Guānxi.Guangxi is a Zhuang autonomous region of the People's Republic of China....
and
NingxiaNingxia , full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region , is a Hui autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess highland, the Yellow River flows through a vast area of its land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary...
followed in 1957, and
Tibet Autonomous RegionThe Tibet Autonomous Region , also called Xizang Autonomous Region , is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China .Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of...
was formally established in 1965.