Direct-controlled municipality

Direct-controlled municipality
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	直轄市
Simplified Chinese	直辖市
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin zhíxiáshì Gan Romanization cit6 hat6 si5 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping zik6 hat6 si5
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương
Korean name
Hangul	직할시
Transcriptions Revised Romanization jikhalsi McCune–Reischauer Chikhalsi

Direct-controlled municipality is the highest level classificiation for cities used by Republic of China (Taiwan), People's Republic of China, Korea and Vietnam with status equal to that of the provinces in the respective countries. The People's Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China, the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in North Korea, the Republic of Korea in South Korea, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Vietnam adopt this system with some variations.

South Korea official change the title of Directly-Governed Cities into Metropolitan Cities (Special City for Seoul) in 1991.

Geographically and culturally, many of the municipalities are enclaves in the middle of provinces. Some occur in strategic positions in between provinces.

• People's Republic of China

• Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing.

• Republic of China (Taiwan)

• Taipei and Kaohsiung.

• North Korea

• P'yŏngyang, Rasŏn.

• South Korea

• Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Ulsan.

• Vietnam

• Hà Nội, Hồ Chí Minh City, Đà Nẵng, and Hải Phòng, Cần Thơ.

China

History

The first municipalities were the 11 cities of Nanjing, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Chongqing, Xi'an, Guangzhou, Hankou (now part of Wuhan), Shenyang, and Harbin when the ROC government ruled the China. They were established in 1927 soon after they were designated as "cities" during the 1920s. Nominally Dalian was a municipality as well, although it was under Japanese Occupation. These cities were first called special municipalities/cities (Chinese: 特別市; pinyin: tébíeshì)), but were later renamed Yuan-controlled municipalities (simplified Chinese: 院辖市; traditional Chinese: 院轄市; pinyin: yùanxíashì), then direct-controlled municipalities (simplified Chinese: 直辖市; traditional Chinese: 直轄市; pinyin: zhíxiáshì) by the Central Government.

After the Chinese Communists took over mainland China in 1949 and established the PRC, Anshan, Benxi, and Fushun were made municipalities as well, while Qingdao, Dalian, and Harbin were reduced to provincial municipalities. Hankou was merged to Wuhan. Hence there remained 12 municipalities in mainland China, until Dalian was elevated in 1950. In November 1952, Nanjing was reduced to a provincial municipality. In July 1953, Harbin was restored to municipality status, along with Changchun. Except Beijing and Tianjin, which were under central control, all other municipalities were governed by the greater administrative areas.

In June 1954, 11 of the 14 municipalities were reduced to provincial municipalities; many of them became capitals of the provinces they were in. Only Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin were left, until Chongqing was restored in 1997 with a much enlarged area. Tianjin was also temporarily reverted to province-controlled status around the 1960s.

Two municipalities in Taiwan were created after the ROC government took control following World War II. Taipei was made a Yuan-controlled municipality in 1967. The same was done for Kaohsiung in 1979. Promotion of Taichung and Tainan from the provincial city to the third and fourth municipality has been proposed and passed in 2009. Since 1994, Yuan-controlled municipalities have been officially called direct-control municipalities to emphasize their autonomy. Besides significant political, economic, and cultural development, the ROC law dictates that a municipality must have population of over 1,250,000.

List of defunct municipalities

Name	Chinese (T)	Chinese (S)	Pinyin	Postal map	Region	Present Annexation
Nanjing	南京	南京	Nánjīng	Nanking	East	Jiangsu
Qingdao	青島	青岛	Qīngdǎo	Tsingtao	East	Shandong
Xi'an	西安	西安	Xī'ān	Sian	Northwest	Shaanxi
Guangzhou	廣州	广州	Guǎngzhōu	Kwangchou (Canton)	South Central	Guangdong
Hankou (Wuhan)	漢口	汉口	Hànkǒu	Hankow	South Central	Hubei
Shenyang	瀋陽	沈阳	Shěnyáng	Shenyang (Mukden)	Northeast	Liaoning
Harbin	哈爾濱	哈尔滨	Hāěrbīn	Harbin	Northeast	Heilongjiang
Dalian	大連	大连	Dàlián	Dairen	Northeast	Liaoning
Anshan	鞍山	鞍山	Ānshān	Anshan	Northeast	Liaoning
Benxi	本溪	本溪	Běnxī)	Penhsi	Northeast	Liaoning
Fushun	撫順	抚顺	Fǔshùn	Fushun	Northeast	Liaoning

People's Republic of China

Position in hierarchy

Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in the PRC. Some cities of lower levels may also refer to themselves as municipalities in the English language. Wikipedia's translation, however, refers to them using the following conventional terms:

Three levels of cities in the People's Republic of China on Mainland China:

1. Municipalities
2. Prefecture-level cities
3. County-level cities

Administration

In mainland Chinese municipalities, the highest ranking government official is the Mayor. The mayor is also a delegate in the National People's Congress (the legislature). and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Municipal Committee. However, the highest administrative authority in the municipality belongs to the Secretary of the CPC Municipal Committee or Party Secretary.

Current PRC municipalities

Map of direct-controlled municipalities divisions in the People's Republic of China

Direct-controlled municipalities of the People's Republic of China

Map #	Division name	Trad.	Simp.	Hanyu Pinyin	Postal	Abbr.	ISO	Region	Population	Density (/km²)	Area (km²)	Divisions
1	Beijing			Běijīng	Peking	京 jīng	CN-11	North	15,810,000	941	16,800	List
2	Tianjin			Tiānjīn	Tientsin	津 jīn	CN-12	North	11,519,000	980	11,305	List
3	Chongqing			Chóngqìng	Chungking	渝 yú	CN-50	Southwest	31,442,300	382	82,300	List
4	Shanghai			Shànghǎi	Shanghai	沪 hù	CN-31	East	18,450,000	2,622	6,341	List

Taiwan

Position in hierarchy

Municipalities are the highest-ranked cities in Taiwan. Some cities of lower levels may also refer to themselves as municipalities in the English language. Wikipedia's translation, however, refers to them using the following conventional terms:

Three levels of cities in the Republic of China on Taiwan:

1. Municipalities
2. Provincial cities
3. County-controlled cities

Administration

In Taiwanese municipalities, the Mayor is the highest ranking official in charge. The Mayor is directly elected by the people registered in the municipality for a duration of four years. e.g. Mayor of Taipei.

Current ROC municipalities

Direct-controlled municipalities of the Republic of China

Division name	Trad.	Simp.	Hanyu Pinyin	Abbr.	Seal	Population	Density (/km²)	Area (km²)	Divisions
Taipei			Táiběi	北 běi		2,622,933	9,650.24	271	List
Kaohsiung			Gāoxióng	高 Gāo	File:Kaohsiung City seal.svg	1,519,711	9,894.42	154	List

Approved ROC municipalities in 2010

Direct-controlled municipalities of the Republic of China

Division name	Trad.	Simp.	Hanyu Pinyin	Abbr.	Population	Area (km²)	Map
Taipei			Táiběi	北 běi	2,622,933	271.7997
New Taipei			Xīnběi	新 xīn	3,849,492	2,052.5667
Taichung			Táizhōng	中 zhōng	2,629,323	2,214.8968
Tainan			Táinán	南 nán	1,873,681	2,191.6531
Kaohsiung			Gāoxióng	高 Gāo	2,769,072	2,946.2527

Proposals for ROC municipalities

Proposals	Changes	June 2009 Population - Combine	Current Area (km²) - Combine	Map (before)						Map (after)
2-A	Hsinchu City + Hsinchu County = Hsinchu City (新竹市 + 新竹縣 = 新竹市)	915,012	1,531.6864
2-B	Chiayi City + Chiayi County = Chiayi City (嘉義市 + 嘉義縣 = 嘉義市)	821,721	1,961.6956
2-C	Taipei City + New Taipei City + Keelung City = Taipei City (臺北市 + 新北市 + 基隆市 = 臺北市)	6,854,715	2,457.1244

Korea

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Position in hierarchy

Map of Directly Governed Cities in North Korea

Directly Governed Cities are the highest-ranked cities in North Korea.

Three levels of cities in North Korea:

1. Directly Governed Cities
2. Cities

Current North Korean Directly Governed Cities

Directly Governed Cities of North Korea
Note: North Korea uses a variant of the McCune-Reischauer romanization.

Romanization	Chosŏn'gŭl	Hancha	Year of Split	Province split from
P'yŏngyang Chikhalsi*	평양 직할시	平壤直轄市	1946	S. P'yŏngan
Rasŏn Chikhalsi (Rajin-Sŏnbong Chikhalsi)	라선 직할시 (라진-선봉 직할시)	羅先直轄市 (羅津-先鋒直轄市)	1993-2004, 2006	North Hamgyŏng

List of defunct Directly Governed Cities of North Korea

Romanization	Chosŏn'gŭl	Hancha	Administered Years	Province absorb into
Ch'ŏngjin	청진시	淸津市	1960-1967, 1977-1985	North Hamgyŏng
Hamhŭng	함흥시	咸興市	1960-1967	South Hamgyŏng
Kaesŏng	개성시	開城市	1951-1955	North Hwanghae
Namp'o	남포시	南浦市	1980-2004	South P'yŏng'an

Republic of Korea

Position in hierarchy

Special City and Metropolitan Cities are the highest-ranked cities in South Korea.

Two levels of cities in South Korea:

1. Special City or Metropolitan Cities
2. Cities

Administration

In South Korean special city and metropolitan cities, the Mayor is the highest ranking official in charge. The Mayor is directly elected by the people registered in the city for a duration of four years. e.g. Mayor of Seoul.

Current South Korean special city and metropolitan cities

File:SK special city and metropolitan cities.png

Map of special city and metropolitan cities in South Korea

Special City and Metropolitan Cities of South Korea
Note: South Korea uses the Revised Romanisation of Korean.

Romanization	Hangul	Hanja	Year of Split	Province split from
Seoul Teukbyeolsi	서울 특별시	See note below	December, 1067	Yangju (then Namgyeong)
Busan Gwangyeoksi	부산 광역시	釜山廣域市	January 1, 1963	S. Gyeongsang
Incheon Gwangyeoksi	인천 광역시	仁川廣域市	July 1, 1981	Gyeonggi
Daegu Gwangyeoksi	대구 광역시	大邱廣域市	July 1, 1981	N. Gyeongsang
Gwangju Gwangyeoksi	광주 광역시	光州廣域市	November 1, 1986	S. Jeolla
Daejeon Gwangyeoksi	대전 광역시	大田廣域市	January 1, 1989	S. Chungcheong
Ulsan Gwangyeoksi	울산 광역시	蔚山廣域市	July 15, 1997	S. Gyeongsang

Notes

• There is no hanja for "Seoul," but in Chinese, it is written by its Joseon Dynasty name Hanseong (漢城). The new Chinese name, 首爾/首尔, is a transcription based on the pronunciation of "Seoul". As a suffix, the character gyeong (京) is used, which means "capital".
• Seoul was designated a "Special Free City" (Teukbyeol Jayusi; 특별 자유시; 特別自由市) separate from Gyeonggi Province on August 15, 1946; it became a "Special City" on August 15, 1949.

Proposed/Planned to become a metropolitan city and special autonomous city

Romanization	Hangul	Hanja	Type	Year of Split	Province split from	Map
Suwon-Hwaseong-Osan	수원-화성-오산 시	水原-華城-烏山市	Metropolitan City	2010	Gyeonggi
Namyangju-Guri	남양주-구리 시	南楊州-九里市	Metropolitan City	2010	Gyeonggi
(Seongnam-Hanam)-Gwangju	(성남-하남)-광주 시	(城南-河南)-廣州市	Metropolitan City	2010	Gyeonggi
Uiwang-Anyang-Gunpo	의왕-안양-군포 시	義王-安養-軍浦市	Metropolitan City	2010	Gyeonggi
Cheongju-Cheongwon	청주-청원 시	淸州-淸原市	Metropolitan City	2010	Chungcheongbuk
Jinju-Sancheong	진주-산청 시	晉州-山淸市	Metropolitan City	2010	Gyeongsangnam
Changwon-Masan-Jinhae	창원-마산-진해 시	昌原-馬山-鎭海市	Metropolitan City	2010	Gyeongsangnam
Yeosu-Suncheon-Gwangyang	여수-순천-광양 시	麗水-順天-光陽市	Metropolitan City	2010	Jeollanam
Mokpo-Muan	목포-무안 시	木浦-務安市	Metropolitan City	2010	Jeollanam
Jeonju-Wanju	전주-완주 시	全州-完州市	Metropolitan City	2010	Jeollabuk
Sejong	세종시	世宗市	Special Autonomous City	TBD	Chungcheongnam

Vietnam

Map of Centrally-governed cities in Vietnam

Position in hierarchy

Centrally-governed cities are the highest-ranked cities in Vietnam.

Three levels of cities in Vietnam:

1. Centrally-governed cities
2. Provincial cities
3. Town

Current Vietnamese Centrally-governed cities

Centrally-governed cities

Romanization	Region
Hà Nội	Hà Nội Kinh-Dong Bang Song Hong
Hồ Chí Minh City	Đông Nam Bộ
Cần Thơ	Tây Nam Bo – Đồng Bằng Sông Cửu Long
Đà Nẵng	Nam Trung Bộ
Hải Phòng	Hà Nội Kinh-Dong Bang Song Hong