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Updates: 

Following ISO 3166-1, Macau (sic) is also listed as a country. See Macau country page. At the same time, since 2002-05-21 (see source [8]), in ISO 3166-2, Macao (sic), denoting the same territory, is listed as a special administrative division of China. Similarly, ISO 3166-1 lists Hong Kong and Taiwan as countries while ISO 3166-2 lists Hong Kong as a special administrative division of China and Taiwan as a province of China. Despite the ISO 3166-2 standard, Taiwan is not under de facto administration by China. According to source [7], "Cross-Strait relations have become more difficult since the elections in January 2016. Beijing has criticised Tsai Ing-wen for failing to endorse the '1992 Consensus' and has suspended official and semi-official channels of communication. For Taiwan, international recognition remains important. The United Nations and most countries - including Australia - recognise the PRC in Beijing as the sole legal government of China (as opposed to the ROC in Taipei). Currently fifteen states recognise Taiwan as the ROC (and thus do not have official relations with Beijing): Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Paraguay, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland and Tuvalu."

I added data from the 2010 census.

ISO/DIS 3166-2 (draft international standard) was published in 1996. For China, it showed 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, and three municipalities. Besides those, it listed Hong Kong and Macau in brackets as special regions. These two were assigned codes as divisions of China (CN-91 and CN-92, respectively), but this was clearly meant as a second choice. The main intent of the draft was to represent Hong Kong (HK) and Macau (MO) as separate countries.

International standard ISO 3166-2, no longer a draft but a full-fledged standard, was published on 1998-12-15. Since the appearance of the draft standard, two changes had occurred in the real world. On 1997-03-14, Chongqing municipality split from Sichuan province; on 1997-07-01, Hong Kong became a special administrative region of China. The revisions made to the draft standard were the addition of Taiwan province (cross-referenced to TW) and Chongqing municipality, the deletion of Macau special region, and the change of code for Hainan province from CN-00 to CN-46.

ISO's policy is that isolated external territories of a country can be assigned separate country codes, where such codes are needed for information interchange. This policy was applied to Hong Kong, whose country code, HK, has been allowed to remain in the standard. In the final standard, the codes HK and CN-91 are equally acceptable for Hong Kong. (In my observation, users seem to prefer to stick with HK.) On the other hand, the code CN-92 was dropped, and only the country code MO was allowed for Macau.

With the change in Hainan province's ISO code, all of the two-digit ISO codes matched the GB2260 (Guobiao) codes for the primary divisions of China, except for Hong Kong (ISO 91, Guobiao 81). Also, before Macau came under Chinese sovereignty, it was announced that its Guobiao code would be 82. The Guobiao code for Taiwan is 71.

Portugal's lease on Macau ended on 1999-12-20, and Macau reverted to China as a second special administrative region.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-2 was published on 2002-05-21. It shows the Chinese name for "special administrative region" as "tebie xingzhengqu". It also gives the Chinese names for three divisions: Neimenggu for Nei Mongol (which is said to be Mongolian), Xianggang for Hong Kong, and Aomen for Macau. It now allows the code CN-92 for Macau.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-6 was published on 2004-03-08. The only difference between it and the previous version for China is the omission of the name Neimenggu for Nei Mongol.

Change No. 1 to FIPS Publication 10-4 was published on 1998-12-01. It showed the splitting of Chongqing municipality from Sichuan province by assigning the FIPS code CH33 to Chongqing, changing the code for Sichuan from CH27 to CH32. Chongqing and Sichuan were conventionally transcribed as Chungking and Szechwan in roughly the first half of the twentieth century.

Country overview: 

Short name	CHINA
ISO code	CN
FIPS code	CH
Language	Chinese (zh)
Time zone	+8
Capital	Beijing

 

At the beginning of the 20th century, an emperor ruled China. It was riddled with European spheres of influence and leased territories. On 1912-01-01, the emperor was overthrown and a republic was proclaimed. In 1931, Japan occupied Manchuria. During World War II, Japan overran a substantial part of China. All of its conquests were nullified by the Allied victory in 1945. Meanwhile, Mao Zedong was leading a Communist revolution which, by 1950, had conquered all of China except Taiwan. In recent years, all concerned parties have agreed that there is only one China, without resolving which is the legitimate government thereof: the People's Republic of China which exercises power on the mainland, or the Republic of China which rules Taiwan. Taiwan is just one province of this theoretically unified country. This website follows ISO standard 3166 in offering two listings, under the names China and Taiwan.

Other names of country: 

1. Chinese: Zhongguo, Zhonghua Renmin Gonghe Guo (formal)
2. Danish: Kina
3. Dutch: China, Volksrepubliek China (formal)
4. English: People's Republic of China (formal)
5. Finnish: Kiina, Kiinan kansantasavalta (formal)
6. French: Chine f
7. German: Volksrepublik f China n (formal)
8. Icelandic: Kína
9. Italian: Cina f
10. Norwegian: Kina, Folkerepublikken Kina (formal)
11. Portuguese: China, República f Popular da China f (formal)
12. Russian: КНР (abbr), Китай, Китайская Народная Республика (formal)
13. Spanish: China, República f Popular de China f (formal)
14. Swedish: Kina
15. Turkish: Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Latin Sina, ancient form of the province name Shaanxi (controversial)

Zhongguo is Chinese zhong: middle + guo kingdom, country.

Primary subdivisions: 

China is divided into 22 sheng (provinces), five zizhiqu (autonomous regions), and four shih (municipalities under direct control of the central government). It also has two special autonomous regions (Hong Kong and Macau) and claims sovereignty over a 23rd province (Taiwan). These three are listed as separate countries.

Division	Type	HASC	GBn	GBa	FIPS	MARC	Post	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Conventional	Capital
Anhui	p+	CN.AH	34	AH	CH01	an	23-24	59,500,510	140,455	54,230	Anhwei	Hefei
Beijing	m	CN.BJ	11	BJ	CH22	pe	10	19,612,368	16,808	6,490	Peking	Beijing
Chongqing	m	CN.CQ	50	CQ	CH33	cq	40	28,846,170	82,403	31,816	Chungking	Chongqing
Fujian	p+	CN.FJ	35	FJ	CH07	fu	35-36	36,894,216	122,919	47,459	Fukien	Fuzhou
Gansu	p+	CN.GS	62	GS	CH15	ka	73-74	25,575,254	459,233	177,311	Kansu	Lanzhou
Guangdong	p+	CN.GD	44	GD	CH30	kn	51-52	104,303,132	178,341	68,858	Kwangtung	Guangzhou
Guangxi Zhuang	a+	CN.GX	45	GX	CH16	kc	53-54	46,026,629	235,001	90,734	Kwangsi Chuang	Nanning
Guizhou	p+	CN.GZ	52	GZ	CH18	kw	55-56	34,746,468	174,976	67,559	Kweichow	Guiyang
Hainan	p	CN.HA	46	HI	CH31	ha	57	8,671,518	60,438	23,335	Hainan	Haikou
Hebei	p+	CN.HB	13	HE	CH10	hp	05-07	71,854,202	187,240	72,294	Hopeh	Shijiazhuang
Heilongjiang	p	CN.HL	23	HL	CH08	he	15-16	38,312,224	431,767	166,706	Heilungkiang	Harbin
Henan	p+	CN.HE	41	HA	CH09	ho	45-47	94,023,567	166,310	64,213	Honan	Zhengzhou
Hong Kong (en)	sa	CN.HK	81	HK	CHHK	hk		7,070,388	1,095	423	Hong Kong	Victoria
Hubei	p+	CN.HU	42	HB	CH12	hh	43-44	57,237,740	185,673	71,689	Hupeh	Wuhan
Hunan	p+	CN.HN	43	HN	CH11	hu	41-42	65,683,722	211,231	81,557	Hunan	Changsha
Jiangsu	p+	CN.JS	32	JS	CH04	ku	21-22	78,659,903	98,285	37,948	Kiangsu	Nanjing
Jiangxi	p+	CN.JX	36	JX	CH03	ki	33-34	44,567,475	171,041	66,039	Kiangsi	Nanchang
Jilin	p	CN.JL	22	JL	CH05	kr	13	27,462,297	191,038	73,760	Kirin	Changchun
Liaoning	p	CN.LN	21	LN	CH19	lp	11-12	43,746,323	147,451	56,931	Liaoning	Shenyang
Macau	sa	CN.MO	82	MO	CHMC	mh		650,834	30	12	Macau	Macau
Nei Mongol	a	CN.NM	15	NM	CH20	im	01-02	24,706,321	1,181,104	456,027	Inner Mongolia	Hohhot
Ningxia Hui	a	CN.NX	64	NX	CH21	nn	75	6,301,350	52,188	20,150	Ningsia Hui	Yinchuan
Qinghai	p	CN.QH	63	QH	CH06	ts	81	5,626,722	720,459	278,171	Tsinghai	Xining
Shaanxi	p+	CN.SA	61	SN	CH26	ss	71-72	37,327,378	204,846	79,091	Shensi	Xian
Shandong	p+	CN.SD	37	SD	CH25	sp	25-27	95,793,065	156,219	60,316	Shantung	Jinan
Shanghai	m	CN.SH	31	SH	CH23	sm	20	23,019,148	6,500	2,510	Shanghai	Shanghai
Shanxi	p+	CN.SX	14	SX	CH24	sh	03-04	35,712,111	149,708	57,803	Shansi	Taiyuan
Sichuan	p+	CN.SC	51	SC	CH32	sz	61-64	80,418,200	491,146	189,633	Szechwan	Chengdu
Taiwan	p	CN.TW	71	TW	CHTW			23,123,866	36,192	13,974	Taiwan	Taipei
Tianjin	m	CN.TJ	12	TJ	CH28	tn	30	12,938,224	11,943	4,611	Tientsin	Tianjin
Xinjiang Uygur	a	CN.XJ	65	XJ	CH13	su	83-84	21,813,334	1,743,441	673,146	Sinkiang Uighur	Urumqi
Xizang	a	CN.XZ	54	XZ	CH14	ti	85	3,002,166	1,178,577	455,051	Tibet	Lhasa
Yunnan	p+	CN.YN	53	YN	CH29	yu	65-67	45,966,239	388,610	150,043	Yunnan	Kunming
Zhejiang	p+	CN.ZJ	33	ZJ	CH02	ch	31-32	54,426,891	106,078	40,957	Chekiang	Hangzhou
34 divisions								1,370,569,940	9,688,746	3,778,163
Type: p = provinces, a = autonomous regions, sa = special autonomous regions, m = municipalities. Plusses (+) mark the traditional "eighteen provinces." HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. GBn: Guobiao 2260-1999 numeric province codes. Prepend CN- to get ISO codes. GBa: Guobiao 2260-1999 alphabetic province codes (see note below). FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4, a U.S. government standard. On 2008-09-02, FIPS was withdrawn by the National Instutes of Science and Technology as a data processing standard [5]. MARC: Prefix "a-cc-" to get MARC bibliographic codes (see note below). Post: China uses six-digit postal codes. The first two digits indicate the province. There is no postal code in Hong Kong or Macau [6]. Population: 2010-11-01 census (source [1]). Area: Figures provided by Karem Abdalla. Conventional: See spelling note below.

 

Spelling note: Because of the many systems used to transliterate Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet, there are an inordinate number of variant spellings for place names within China. The Pinyin system, devised by Chinese scholars in the 1950s and used as the standard Romanization of the People's Republic of China since 1979, is now widely accepted. The Wade-Giles system was commonly used in English texts before then. Western conventional spelling is not a system, but refers to naive transcriptions that have been in common use. In the main table of divisions, I list the Pinyin and conventional transcriptions of province names, and the Pinyin form of capitals. In the change history, I have tried to choose the transcriptions most likely to be found in historical sources in English. Pinyin equivalents are given with "p:". The list of other names of subdivisions attempts to communicate a feel for the kind of variations that occur. In that table, some variants are translations rather than transliterations. Note how each language uses its own phonetic conventions to render similar sounds.

Guobiao note: The Chinese National Bureau of Standards created a hierarchical set of codes for the first-, second-, and third-level administrative subdivisions. In a six-digit code, the first two digits indicate a province, the next two a prefecture or municipality on the prefecture level, and the last two a county or municipality on the county level. The standard is designated GB2260, where GB stands for Guobiao, and the codes are called Guobiao codes. (They should not be confused with the Guobiao codes for Chinese characters, which are defined by standard GB12345.) The Guobiao two-digit province codes are listed in the main table above. In addition, China has assigned codes to Hong Kong (81), Macau (82), and Taiwan is (71). ISO codes for Hong Kong and Macau begin with 9 instead of 8; remember that those SARs also have country codes of their own.

Source [2] says that Guobiao standard 2260-1999, in addition to its six-digit codes for administrative divisions, has a set of two-letter codes for the provincial-level divisions. I have added them to the table above. Codes are also assigned for Hong Kong (HK), Macau (MC), and Taiwan (TW).

MARC note: There are two sets of geographic MARC codes. MARC stands for Machine Readable Cataloging. MARC country codes are two or three letters long. When they are three letters long, they represent a subnational unit; this is only implemented for four countries: Australia, Canada, U.S., and U.K. MARC geographic area codes are seven characters long, and are left-padded with hyphens if necessary. In most cases, the first letter represents a global region such as a continent. The format for the rest of the code varies. Codes for subnational units are implemented for five countries: the four above and China. These subnational codes have the form r-cc-ss, where r represents the global region, cc represents the country, and ss represents the statoid. In the main table above, I've added MARC codes for the provinces and cities of China. The MARC codes for Hong Kong and Macau are a-cc-hk and a-cc-mh, respectively.

Further subdivisions:

See the Prefectures of China page.

First-level subdivisions of China are provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, as shown. There are about 350 second-level divisions, including municipalities under direct provincial control, t'i-ch'ü (prefectures, or areas), chuan-ch'ü (special districts), tzu-chih-chou (autonomous districts), hsing-cheng-ch'ü (administrative districts), and (in Nei Mongol only) meng (leagues). There are about 2,800 third-level divisions: hsien (counties), municipalities, tzu-chih-hsien (autonomous counties), etc. The fourth-level divisions were formerly hsiang (villages) and chen (towns). In 1958, they were all replaced by communes.

China's government uses adjustments to administrative divisions as a policy tool, and approximately 1% of the county-level units are changed each year.

Territorial extent: 

For the treatment of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, see the change history at the top of this page.

China claims the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. These groups have been given FIPS 10-4 country codes of PF and PG, respectively. In the GENC standard, their codes are XP and XPR for Paracel Islands and XS and XSP for Spratly Islands.

China has long-standing border disputes with many of its Asian neighbors. In the Karakoram Range of the Himalayas, there is an area, mostly in Xinjiang Uygur but partly in Xizang, possessed by China but claimed by India. In Eastern India, most of Arunachal Pradesh state is claimed by China.

Jilin is blocked from access to the Sea of Japan by North Korea and Russia.

Fujian province includes islands to the middle of the Taiwan Strait, with some exceptions. Taiwan claims, and occupies, two island groups in what would otherwise be the territorial waters of the People's Republic. The main islands are Quemoy, near Xiamen, and Matsu, near Fuzhou.

Hebei province has an unusual sort of exclave. As the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin grew, their borders met on the east and the west, leaving an undigested area in the middle. Sanhe and Zizhixian are towns in this exclave.

Shanghai municipality includes the island of Chongming Dao, north of the main channel of the Yangtze River.

The UN LOCODE page  for China lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. Anhui: Chinese an: tranquil, hui: excellent; name derived from the first syllables of An-Ch'ing and Hweichow cities.
2. Beijing: Chinese bei: north, jing: capital (i.e. northern capital).
3. Fujian: Chinese fu: happiness, jian: establish (i.e. happy establishment).
4. Gansu: Chinese gan: benevolent, su: respectful; name derived from the first syllables of Kan-chou and Su-chou districts.
5. Guangdong: Chinese guang: wide, dong: east; province was formed long ago as the eastern part of an area known as Kwang-nan Hsi-lu ("Wide south, western route").
6. Guangxi: Chinese guang: immense, xi: west (western part of Kwang-nan Hsi-lu).
7. Guizhou: Chinese gui: precious, zhou: region.
8. Hainan: Chinese hai: sea, nan: south (island in the South China Sea).
9. Hebei: Chinese he: river, bei: north (i.e. north of the Hwang Ho).
10. Heilongjiang: Chinese hei: black, long: dragon, jiang: river; named for the river which forms its northern border.
11. Henan: Chinese he: river, nan: south (south of the Hwang Ho).
12. Hubei: Chinese hu: lake, bei: north (north of a chain of lakes along the Yangtze River).
13. Hunan: Chinese hu: lake, nan: south (south of the same lakes).
14. Jiangsu: Chinese jiang: river, su: bounty, or thyme, or relive; name derived from the first syllables of Chiang-ning and Su-chou prefectures.
15. Jiangxi: Chinese jiang: river, xi: west (originally west of the Yangtze River).
16. Jilin: Chinese ji: good luck, lin: forest; but the name derives from Manchu kirin ula: riverbank
17. Liaoning: Chinese liao: distant, ning: peace; named for the Liao River.
18. Nei Mongol: Inner Mongolia
19. Ningxia: Chinese ning: peace; named for the Hsi Hsia, or Tangut, tribe, then at peace.
20. Qinghai: Chinese qing: blue, hai: sea; named for a lake in its northeast. Both the lake and the province were formerly called Koko Nor.
21. Shaanxi: west of the pass.
22. Shandong: Chinese shan: mountains, dong: east (i.e. eastern mountains).
23. Shanghai: on the sea.
24. Shanxi: Chinese shan: mountains, xi: west (i.e. west of the mountains).
25. Sichuan: four rivers (referring to four tributaries of the Yangtze River).
26. Tianjin: Chinese tian: celestial, jin: ford; originally Tien-chin-wei: defense of the heavenly ford.
27. Xinjiang: new frontier, new dominion.
28. Xizang: Chinese xi: west, zang: storehouse.
29. Yunnan: Chinese yun: clouds, nan: south; region is south of the Yun-ling Shan, or cloudy mountains.
30. Zhejiang: From the province's main river, formerly named Che Chiang (crooked river).

Change history: 

The change history of Chinese subdivisions is somewhat confusing. It is best understood by separately examining each of the components of the Chinese empire, as of 1900: China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Sinkiang, and Tibet. The external borders of this region were roughly the same as present-day China and Mongolia combined.

China in 1900 consisted of eighteen provinces, the traditional heartland of the empire. There were several independent states in the southern mountains, completely surrounded by China: Lolos, Seng-Miaotse (two enclaves), and Choang Kolao (also two enclaves). Territories leased to other nations included Kwangchowan (French: Kouang-Tchéou-Wan, on modern Donghai Island and adjacent land on the Leizhou Peninsula), Macao (Portuguese: Macau), Hong Kong (British), Kiao-Chow (p:Jiaozhou) Bay (German: Tsing-tao [p:Qingdao]), Weihai (British: Wei-hai-wei, on the Shandong Peninsula), and Kwantung (p:Guandong, not to be confused with Kwangtung [p:Guangdong] province in South China) in Manchuria (Russian: Port Arthur). Japan had acquired Taiwan and the adjacent Penghu Islands in the Sino-Japanese War of 1895.

1. 1914: Japan acquired the lease to Kiao-Chow Bay from Germany.
2. 1922: Kiao-Chow Bay reverted to China.
3. 1928: Nanking replaced Peking as capital of China. (Note: Nanking is from nan: south, jing: capital; Peking is from bei: north, jing: capital.) Peking renamed to Pei-p'ing (peace in the north). Its province renamed from Chihli to Hopeh.
4. 1930-10-01: Wei-hai-wei restored to China by Great Britain.
5. ~1938: Capital of Kiangsu moved from Nanking to Chinkiang (p:Zhenjiang).
6. ~1939: Capital of Kwangsi moved from Kweilin (p:Guilin) to Nanning.
7. 1945-08-18: Kwangchowan restored to China by France.
8. 1949-04-23: As the Communists advanced, the Nationalist government retreated to a temporary capital at Chungking (p:Chongqing) in Szechuan.
9. 1949: A set of regional administrative areas, listed in the following table, temporarily replaced provincial government under the Communist regime.

Area	Provinces
Central South	Honan, Hunan, Hupeh, Kiangsi, Kwangsi, Kwangtung
East China	Anhwei, Chekiang, Fukien, Kiangsu, Shantung
Inner Mongolia	Northern Chahar, Suiyuan
North China	Southern Chahar, Hopeh, Shansi
Northeast China	Antung, Heilungkiang, Jehol, Kirin, Liaohsi
Northwest China	Kansu, Ningsia, Shensi, Sinkiang, Tsinghai
Southwest China	Kweichow, Sikang, Szechuan, Yunnan

1. 1949-10-01: Peking replaced Nanking as capital of China, re-assuming its former name.
2. ~1950: Peking municipality split from Hopeh province; Shanghai municipality split from Kiangsu province.
3. The Oxford Atlas of China says that China in 1950 consisted of six administrative macro-regions: Mid-South, East, North, Northeast, Northwest, and Southwest. These were subdivided into thirty provinces, twelve municipalities, one autonomous region, eight administrative prefectures, one territory, and one area. I conclude that the one autonomous region was Inner Mongolia. It's not clear what the Oxford Atlas meant by the "territory" and the "area"; possibly Tibet was counted as one or the other. The twelve municipalities were Anshan, Beijing, Benxi, Chongqing, Fushun, Guangzhou, Lüda, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Xi'an. Some of the thirty provinces were apparently created by the Communists as they displaced the Nationalist government in 1949.
4. 1951: East Szechuan, North Szechuan, South Szechuan, and West Szechuan provinces merged to form Szechuan. North Anhwei and South Anhwei provinces merged to form Anhwei. North Kiangsu and South Kiangsu provinces merged to form Kiangsu. Chahar province split between Hopeh and Shansi. Pingyuan province split between Honan and Shantung.
5. 1952: Capital of Kiangsu moved from Chinkiang back to Nanking.
6. 1953: Changchun municipality split from Kirin province; Harbin municipality split from Heilungkiang province.
7. 1954: The administrative areas were abolished and provincial government resumed.
8. 1954: Liaodong and Liaoxi provinces and Anshan, Benxi, Fushun, Lüda, and Shenyang municipalities merged to form Liaoning province. Songjiang province and Harbin municipality merged with Heilongjiang. Capital of Henan province moved from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou. Changchun, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Xi'an municipalities merged with their surrounding provinces: Jilin, Szechuan, Guangdong, Hubei, and Shaanxi respectively.
9. 1955: Rehe province split between Hebei, Liaoning, and Nei Mongol. Xikang province merged with Szechuan.
10. ~1955: Capital of Honan renamed from K'ai-feng to Cheng-chou (p:Zhengzhou).
11. 1957-06: Guangxi province became Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
12. ~1958: Capital of Anhwei moved from Anking (p:Anqing) to Hefei.
13. 1958: Tientsin municipality merged with Hopeh province. Capital of Hopeh moved from Paoting (p:Baoding) to Tientsin.
14. 1958: Kwangsi changed from province to autonomous region.
15. 1967: Capital of Hopeh moved from Tientsin to Shih-chia-chuang (p:Shijiazhuang). Tientsin became a provincial-level municipality.
16. ~1970: Triangle of land around Beihai transferred from Guangdong province to Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, giving the latter a seacoast.
17. 1988-04: Hainan province split from Guangdong province.
18. 1997-03-14: Chongqing municipality split from Sichuan province.
19. 1997-07-01: Hong Kong became a special autonomous region of China, on the expiration of Great Britain's lease. Hong Kong is still treated as a separate "country" by the standards.
20. 1999-12-20: Macau became a special autonomous region of China, on the expiration of Portugal's lease. Macau is still treated as a separate "country" by the standards.

Manchuria in 1900 had three provinces: Heilungkiang, Kilin, and Shengching. Their respective capitals were Tsitsihar (p:Qiqihar), Kirin (p:Jilin), and Mukden (now named p:Shenyang). Russian armed forces occupied Manchuria during the course of 1900. After Japan won the Russo-Japanese war in 1905, the Russian forces withdrew and were supplanted by Japanese. Japan also acquired the lease to Kwantung. By 1925, Japan's military occupation was confined to Kwantung. On 1931-09-18, two bombings in Mukden gave the Japanese a pretext to invade Manchuria. On 1932-03-09, the nominally independent country of Manchukuo was declared. In actuality, it was a Japanese puppet state. Its capital was Hsinking (p:Changchun). Japan extended its control, enlarging Manchukuo with territory seized from Inner Mongolia (the Chearim area) and China (the northern part of Chihli province, which became Jehol province of Manchuria). At the end of World War II, Manchuria reverted de facto to Chinese sovereignty. The de jure restoration was completed about 1951. Since then, the Chinese have called the region the Northeast, rather than Manchuria. It now consists of three provinces which roughly match the ones in 1900, with Liaoning corresponding to Shengching.

1. 1903: Name of Shengching province changed to Feng-t'ien.
2. 1905: Japan won the Kwantung lease from Russia in the Russo-Japanese War.
3. 1928: Name of Feng-t'ien province changed to Liao-ning, with altered boundaries.
4. 1931-09-18: Japan occupied Manchuria.
5. 1932-03-09: Creation of Manchukuo announced.
6. 1933: Jehol province created as a buffer state between Manchukuo and China. Its capital was Jehol (p:Chengde).
7. 1945-09-02: Japan surrendered, ending World War II. Manchuria, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands were restored de facto to China. The Soviet Union took possession of Kwantung.
8. 1947: During the period between 1947 and 1955-08, Manchuria split into as many as eleven provinces. Jehol and Cherim provinces, in the west, were historically part of Inner Mongolia, but had been annexed to Manchukuo during the war. In place of the prewar Heilungkiang, there were now the provinces of Heilungkiang, Hsingan, and northern parts of Nunkiang, Sungkiang, and Hokiang. Prewar Kirin corresponded to the southern parts of those three provinces, plus Kirin. Prewar Liaoning was divided into Liaohsi (west), Liaoning, and Liaotung (east). Then it was resectioned into Liaoning, Antung (east), and Liaopeh (north), with much of Cherim province attached to Liaopeh. Finally, Hsingan and much of Jehol and Liaopeh became part of Inner Mongolia; Heilungkiang, Hokiang, Nunkiang, and Sungkiang became modern Heilungkiang; Kirin acquired parts of Antung and Liaopeh; another part of Jehol was annexed to Hopeh; and what was left became Liaoning.
9. 1954: Capital of Kirin province moved from Kirin to Changchun.
10. 1955: Kwantung territory returned to China by the Soviet Union.

Mongolia in 1900 included what is now Mongolia, most of Nei Mongol, and parts of Heilongjiang, Jirin, and Liaoning. It acquired independence from China by stages, losing Inner Mongolia and Tannu Tuva in the process. During this period, it was sometimes called Outer Mongolia, to help distinguish it from Inner Mongolia. For internal divisions, see Mongolia.

1. 1912: Mongolia became autonomous.
2. 1919: Mongolia reintegrated with China.
3. 1921-03-13: Outer Mongolia declared independence from China. The Mongolian provinces of Ala-Shan (roughly equivalent to Ningsia), Ordos, Silin Gol, and Chearim remained part of China.
4. ~1930: Ordos (south of the Hwang Ho) and Silin Gol merged to form Suiyuan province, with capital Kweisui (now named p:Hohhot).
5. 1946-01-05: China recognized Mongolia's independence.
6. 1947-05: Inner Mongolia autonomous region formed by the Communist regime from parts of Chahar and Heilungkiang provinces.
7. 1954-02: A long strip of southern Mongolia was annexed by Inner Mongolia.
8. 1954: Ningsia province merged with Kansu.
9. 1954-06: Suiyuan province merged with Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Hohhot (also known as Hu-ho-hao-t'e, Huhehot, etc.) became capital of Inner Mongolia.
10. 1956: Part of Kansu transferred to Inner Mongolia (northern part of former Ningsia province).
11. 1958: Ningsia Hui autonomous region (southern part of former Ningsia province) split from Kansu province.
12. 1969: Hu-lun-pei-erh-meng transferred from Nei Mongol to Heilongjiang.
13. 1969: Ala-Shan East transferred from Nei Mongol to Ningsia Hui.
14. ~1970: Part of Pa-yen-nao-erh-meng transferred from Nei Mongol to Kansu.

In 1900, Sinkiang had almost the same extent that it does now. Its northern part was called Sungaria or Jungaria. Its western part was called East Turkestan, or Chinese Turkestan.

1. 1956: Sinkiang province became Sinkiang Uighur autonomous region.

In 1900, Tibet occupied approximately the territory of modern Xizang and Qinghai. Its relationship to China has fluctuated between subjugation and independence. Between 1912 and 1950, the scale tilted toward independence. In 1950-10, China invaded Tibet, and has remained sovereign there ever since. The status of Tibet's subdivisions has also been variable over the years. As a rule, the Tibetan region has comprised Tibet proper, in the west; Koko Nor, later called Tsinghai, in the northeast; and Kham, later called Sikang, in the southwest.

1. 1914: "Inner Tibet" created as a buffer zone between Tibet itself ("Outer Tibet") and China, but its boundaries were never agreed on.
2. 1928: Tsinghai became a province of China.
3. 1950-10: Chinese troops occupied Tibet.
4. 1951-05-23: Tibet and China signed an agreement formalizing the occupation.
5. 1955-08: Sikang province (capital Yaan) merged into Sichuan province.
6. 1965-09-09: Xizang became autonomous region.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Anhui: An-hui (Wade-Giles); Ngan-houei (French); Ngan-hui (obsolete)
2. Beijing: Pechino (Italian); Pei-ching (Wade-Giles); Pei-p'ing (obsolete); Pékin (French); Pekín (Spanish); Pequim (Portuguese); Пекин (Russian)
3. Fujian: Foekien (Dutch); Fokien (German); Fou-kien (French); Fu-chien (Wade-Giles); Min Sheng (informal)
4. Gansu: Kansoe (Dutch); Kan-sou (French); Kan-su (Wade-Giles)
5. Guangdong: Kouang-tong, Kuan-tung (French); Kuangtung (Portuguese); Kuang-tung (Wade-Giles); Kwangtoeng (Dutch)
6. Guangxi Zhuang: Guangxi (informal); Kouang-si (French); Kuang-hsi (Wade-Giles); Kuangsi (Portuguese); Kwangsi (Dutch, German); Kwangsi-Chuang (conventional)
7. Guizhou: Kouei-tcheou (French); Kueichau (Portuguese); Kuei-chou (Wade-Giles); Kweitschou (German); Kweitsjou (Dutch)
8. Hainan: Hai-nan (French, Wade-Giles)
9. Hebei: Ho-pei (French, Wade-Giles); Hopei (Dutch, German, Portuguese)
10. Heilongjiang: Heiloengkiang (Dutch); Hei-long-kiang (French); Hei-lung-chiang (Wade-Giles)
11. Henan: Ho-nan (French, Wade-Giles)
12. Hong Kong: Xianggang (Pinyin)
13. Hubei: Hoepeh (Dutch); Hou-pei (French); Hu-pei (Wade-Giles); Hupei (German, Portuguese)
14. Hunan: Hoenan (Dutch); Hou-nan (French); Hu-nan (Wade-Giles)
15. Jiangsu: Chiang-su (Wade-Giles); Kiangsoe (Dutch); Kiang-sou (French)
16. Jiangxi: Chiang-hsi (Wade-Giles); Kiang-si (French)
17. Jilin: Chi-lin (Wade-Giles); Ki-lin (French)
18. Liaoning: Fengtien (obsolete); Leao-ning (French); Liao-ning (Wade-Giles)
19. Macao: Macau (ISO standard 3166-1, see change notes at top of pages), Aomen (Pinyin)
20. Nei Mongol: Binnen-Mongolië (Dutch); Indre Mongolia (Norwegian); Innere Mongolei (German); Mongolia Interior (Spanish); Mongólia Interior (Portuguese); Mongolia Interna (Italian); Mongolie-Intérieure (French); Neimeng (variant); Nei-meng-ku (Wade-Giles); Nei Monggol (variant)
21. Ningxia Hui: Ninchsia (German); Ning-hia (French); Ning-hsia (Wade-Giles); Ninghsia (German, Portuguese); Ningsia (informal-conventional)
22. Qinghai: Ch'ing-hai (Wade-Giles); Chinghai (Portuguese); Tschinghai (German); Ts'ing-hai (French)
23. Shaanxi: Chen-si (French); Schensi (German); Shen-hsi (Wade-Giles); Sjensi (Dutch)
24. Shandong: Chan-tong (French); Schantung (German); Shan-tung (Wade-Giles); Sjantoeng (Dutch)
25. Shanghai: Chang-haï (French); Schanghai (German); Sjanghai (Dutch); Xangai (Portuguese)
26. Shanxi: Chan-si (French); Schansi, Shansi (German); Shan-hsi (Wade-Giles); Shansi (Portuguese); Sjensi (Dutch)
27. Sichuan: Setchouan, Seu-tch'ouan, Sseu-tch'ouan (French); Setsuan (Portuguese); Sezuan, Szechuan, Szetschuan (German); Ssu-ch'uan (Wade-Giles); Szetsjwan (Dutch)
28. Tianjin: T'ien-tsin (French)
29. Xinjiang Uygur: Hsin-chiang (Wade-Giles); Sin-kiang (French); Sinkiang (informal-conventional); Sinkiang-Oeigoer (Dutch); Uigurische Autonome Region Xinjiang (German); Xinjiang (informal)
30. Xizang: Hsi-tsang (Wade-Giles); Sitsang (German); Thibet (French-obsolete); Tibete (Portuguese)
31. Yunnan: Junnan (Dutch); Jünnan, Yünnan (German); Yun-nan (French, Wade-Giles)
32. Zhejiang: Che-chiang (Wade-Giles); Chekiang (German, Portuguese); Tchö-kiang (French); Tschekiang (German); Tsjekiang (Dutch)

Population history:

Province	1898	1936	1953-06-30	1982-07-01	1990-07-01	2000-11-01	2010-11-01
Anhui	20,596,288	23,265,368	30,343,637	49,665,000	52,290,000	58,999,948	59,500,510
Beijing			2,768,149	9,230,000	10,870,000	13,569,194	19,612,368
Chahar		2,035,957
Chongqing						30,512,763	28,846,170
Fujian	22,790,556	11,755,625	13,142,721	25,873,000	30,610,000	34,097,947	36,894,216
Gansu	9,285,377	6,705,446	12,928,102	19,569,000	22,930,000	25,124,282	25,575,254
Guangdong	29,706,249	32,385,215	34,770,059	59,299,000	63,210,000	85,225,007	104,303,132
Guangxi Zhuang	5,151,327	13,385,215	19,560,822	36,420,000	42,530,000	43,854,538	46,026,629
Guizhou	7,669,181	9,043,207	15,037,310	28,553,000	32,730,000	35,247,695	34,746,468
Hainan					6,420,000	7,559,035	8,671,518
Hebei	17,937,000	28,644,737	35,984,644	53,006,000	60,280,000	66,684,419	71,854,202
Heilongjiang			11,897,309	32,665,000	34,770,000	36,237,576	38,312,224
Henan	22,115,827	34,289,848	44,214,594	74,422,000	86,140,000	91,236,854	94,023,567
Hubei	33,365,005	25,541,636	27,789,693	47,804,000	54,760,000	59,508,870	57,237,740
Hunan	21,002,604	28,293,735	33,226,954	54,008,000	60,600,000	63,274,173	65,683,722
Jehol			5,160,822
Jiangsu	20,905,171	36,469,321	41,252,192	60,521,000	68,170,000	73,043,577	78,659,903
Jiangxi	24,534,118	15,820,403	16,772,865	33,184,000	38,280,000	40,397,598	44,567,475
Jilin			11,290,073	22,560,000	25,150,000	26,802,191	27,462,297
Liaoning			18,545,147	35,721,000	39,980,000	41,824,412	43,746,323
Manchuria		43,233,954
Nei Mongol			6,100,104	19,274,000	21,110,000	23,323,347	24,706,321
Ningxia Hui		1,023,143		3,895,000	4,660,000	5,486,393	6,301,350
Qinghai		1,196,054	1,676,534	3,895,000	4,430,000	4,822,963	5,626,722
Shaanxi	8,432,193	7,717,881	15,881,281	28,904,000	32,470,000	35,365,072	37,327,378
Shandong	36,247,835	38,029,294	48,876,548	74,419,000	83,430,000	89,971,789	95,793,065
Shanghai			6,204,417	11,859,000	13,510,000	16,407,734	23,019,148
Shanxi	12,211,453	11,601,026	14,314,485	25,291,000	28,180,000	32,471,242	35,712,111
Sichuan	67,712,897	52,963,269	62,303,999	99,713,000	106,370,000	82,348,296	80,418,200
Sikang		968,187	3,381,064
Suiyuan		2,083,693
Tianjin			2,693,831	7,764,000	8,830,000	9,848,731	12,938,224
Xinjiang Uygur		4,360,020	4,873,608	13,081,000	15,370,000	18,459,511	21,813,334
Xizang			1,273,969	1,892,000	2,220,000	2,616,329	3,002,166
Yunnan	11,721,576	11,994,549	17,472,737	32,553,000	36,750,000	42,360,089	45,966,239
Zhejiang	11,588,692	21,230,749	22,865,747	38,884,000	40,840,000	45,930,651	54,426,891
Totals	382,973,349	464,037,532	593,019,025	1,003,924,000	1,127,890,000	1,265,830,000	1,339,724,852

 

1898 and 1936 figures are estimates; the others are censuses (sometimes rounded).

Sources: 

1. [1] "China 2010 Census Data Released ." China Data Center, University of Michigan (dated 2011-09-29, retrieved 2014-02-04). Has 2000 and 2010 censuses. There are a couple of obvious typos, so the data may not be perfectly accurate.
2. [2] China Historical Geographical Information Systems Project : Draft Database Design and Geocoding System, by Lawrence W. Crissman (dated 2000-11-02, retrieved 2004-03-14).
3. [3] China Data Online  website (retrieved 2004-01-20).
4. [4] Il Leonardo: Almanacco di Educazione Popolare. Ente Nazionale Biblioteche Popolari e Scolastiche, Roma, 1968.
5. [5] Federal Register, September 2, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 170), page 51276
6. [6] Travel China Guide
7. [7] Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 2021-11-20
8. [8] Newsletter I-2, dated 2002-05-21