The administrative divisions of China between 1912 and 1949 were established under the various Governments of the Republic of China before its evacuation to Taiwan.
Introduction The Republic of China was founded in 1912. It used most of the same administrative divisions as the Qing dynasty but divided Inner Mongolia into four provinces and set up several municipalities under the authority of the Executive Yuan. After the end of World War II in 1945, Manchuria was reincorporated into the Republic of China as nine provinces. Taiwan and the Penghu were also acquired by the Republic of China and organized into Taiwan Province after Retrocession Day. The Nationalist government of China officially recognized the independence of Outer Mongolia in January 1946 after the 1945 Mongolian independence referendum which voted for independence. Later, Hainan separated and became a first-level administrative region in January 1949. By this time the top-level divisions consisted of 35 provinces, 12 Yuan-controlled municipalities, one special administrative region and Tibet area.
After the central government's withdrawal from mainland China during the Chinese Civil War and subsequent relocation to Taiwan in 1949, the jurisdiction of the ROC was restricted to only Taiwan, the Penghus, Hainan, and a few offshore islands of Fujian and Zhejiang. Hainan was captured by the People's Republic of China in May 1950, followed by the unrecognized Tibet in 1951 and Zhejiang in 1955. The remaining area is called the "Free area of the Republic of China" in the ROC Constitution. In most ordinary legislation, the term "Taiwan Area" is used in place of the "Free Area", while mainland China is referred to as the "Mainland Area."
Provinces After the Republic of China was established in 1912, it set up four more provinces in Inner Mongolia and two in historic Tibet, bringing the total to 28. In 1931, Ma Zhongying established Hexi in the northern parts of Gansu but the ROC never acknowledged the province. However, China lost four provinces with the establishment of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Manchuria. After the defeat of Japan in World War II in 1945, China re-incorporated Manchuria as 10 provinces, and assumed control of Taiwan as a province. As a result, the Republic of China in 1946 had 35 provinces.
Other provincial level divisions
Beiyang government (1912–1928)
The Beiyang government streamlined the system used in Qing dynasty down to three levels:
Provinces (省, shěng) Circuits (道, dào) Counties (縣, xiàn)
The Beiyang government set up four more provinces out of Inner Mongolia and the surrounding areas (Chahar, Rehe, Ningxia, Suiyuan) and two others out of parts of historical Tibet ( (later Xikang) out of Kham and Qinghai out of Amdo; Ü-Tsang was the Dalai Lama's realm at this time and not part of any province), bringing the total number of provinces up to 28.
+Administrative divisions of the Republic of China (1912–1928)Division nameAbbreviationCapital nameNotePostalChinesePinyinChinesePinyinPostalChinesePinyin Provinces ( Shěng)Anhwei Ānhuī WǎnAnking Ānqìng Chekiang Zhèjiāng ZhèHangchow Hángzhōu Chihli Zhílì ZhíTientsin Tiānjīn1914 area around Peking (Beijing) split into Shuntien PrefectureFengtienFèngtiānFèngMukdenShěnyángFukienFújiàn MǐnFoochowFúzhōuHeilungkiangHēilóngjiāngHēiTsitsiharQíqíhār1914 Hulunbuir Region split, 1920 merged back.HonanHénánYùKaifengKāifēngHunanHúnánXiāngChangshaChángshāHupehHúběiÈWuchangWǔchāngKansuGānsùLǒngLanchowLánzhōuKiangsiJiāngxīGànNanchangNánchāngKiangsuJiāngsūSūNankingNánjīng1912 area around Nanking (Nanjing) shortly split to a prefectureKirinJílínJíKirinJílínKwangsiGuǎngxīGuìKweilinGuìlínKwangtungGuǎngdōngYuèCantonGuǎngzhōuKweichowGuìzhōuQiánKweiyangGuìyángShansiShānxīJìnTaiyuanTàiyuánShantungShāndōngLǔTsinanJǐnánShensiShǎnxīShǎnSianXī'ānSinkiangXīnjiāngXīnTihwaDíhuàTihwa was renamed Ürümqi (烏魯木齊) after 1949SzechwanSìchuānShǔChengtuChéngdūYunnanYúnnánDiānKunmingKūnmíng Areas ( Dìfāng)CapitalJīngzhàoJīngAbout the place of modern Municipality of BeijingInner MongoliaNèiménggǔNèiméngInner Mongolia was divided into several Mongolian leagues and banners. There was no obvious capital.Split into Chahar, Rehe, Suiyuan in 1913–14.Outer MongoliaWàiménggǔWàiméngKhureeKùlúnKhuree was renamed Ulaanbaatar after the independence of MongoliaTibetXīzàngZàngLhasaLāsàTsinghaiQīnghǎiQīngSiningXïníng Regions ( Qūyù)AltayĀ'ěrtàiĀěrtàiAltayChénghuàsì1920 abolished → SinkiangThe Chinese name of the capital 承化寺 was changed to Ālètài (阿勒泰) after 1949.HulunbuirHūlúnbèi'ěrHūlúnbèi'ěrHailarHǎilā'ěr1915 created, 1920 abolished → HeilungkiangTarbaghatayTǎ'ěrbāhātáiTǎchéngTachengTǎchéng1912 created, 1916 abolished → Sinkiang Prefectures ( Fǔ)NankingNánjīngNíngJanuary 1912 created, February 1912 abolished → KiangsuShuntienShùntiānJīngMay 1914 created from Chihli, renamed Capital Area in October Special Administrative Regions ( Tèbiéqū)ChaharCháhāěrCháChangyuanZhāngyuán1914 created from Inner MongoliaChangyuan was renamed Zhangjiakou (張家口) after 1949.ChuānbiānChuānbiānKangtingKāngdìng1925 renamed to SikangJeholRèhéRèChengtehChéngdé1914 created from Inner MongoliaSikangXīkāngKāngKangtingKāngdìng1925 renamed from ChwanpienSuiyuanSuīyuǎnSuīKweisuiGuīsuī1913 created from Inner MongoliaKweisui was renamed Hohhot (呼和浩特) after 1949TungshengDōngshěngDōngshěngHarbinHā'ěrbīnLand along the Chinese Eastern Railway, spanned from Manzhouli through Harbin to Suifenhe. Commercial Region ( Shāngbù)Kiao-aoJiāo'àoJiāoTsingtaoQīngdǎoFormerly Japanese and German concession.1925 abolished → ShantungSunghuSōnghùHùShanghaiShànghǎiStatus in dispute. Division established by the Zhili clique leader Sun Chuanfang, was not recognized by the central government.
Nationalist Government (1928–1949)
The Nationalist government established municipalities (cities directly administered by the central government) and added sub-county levels (like townships). Circuits were abolished in 1928 as being superfluous. The reforms were impracticable; the average province had more than 50 counties with some with more than a hundred. Some provinces were later subdivided into prefectures.
Provinces (省, shěng) Administrative superintendent district (行政督察區, xíngzhèng dūcháqū) Counties (縣, xiàn)
Four northeast provinces (Fengtian, Heilongjiang, Rehe, Jilin) were lost to Manchukuo, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan, in the 1930s. Counties in multiple provinces were lost to the Chinese Soviet Republic in 1931, with most being recovered in 1934 before the Long March.
Following the end of the Second World War in 1945, Manchuria was reincorporated as nine provinces and three municipalities, and Taiwan Province was created by annexing the island of Taiwan and the Penghu islands. By this time there was a total of thirty-five provinces, twelve municipalities (院轄市, yuànxiáshì), one special administrative region (特別行政區, tèbié xíngzhèngqǖ), and two regions (地方, difāng) as first-level divisions.
China recognized the Mongolian People's Republic following the 1945 Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, formally relinquishing claims on the area of Outer Mongolia.
+Administrative divisions of the Republic of China (1928–1949)Division nameAbbreviationCapital nameNotePostalChinesePinyinChinesePinyinPostalChinesePinyin Provinces ( Shěng)Antung Āndōng ĀnTunghwa Tōnghuà1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Liaoning)Anhwei Ānhuī WǎnHofei Héféi ChaharCháhāěrCháKalganZhāngyuán1928 reformed from a special administrative regionKalgan was renamed Zhangjiakou (張家口) after 1949.Chekiang Zhèjiāng ZhèHangchow Hángzhōu FukienFújiàn MǐnFoochowFúzhōuHeilungkiangHēilóngjiāngHēiPeianBěi'ān1945 recreated from ManchukuoHokiangHéjiāngHéChiamussuJiāmùsī1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Kirin)HonanHénánYùKaifengKāifēngHopeh Héběi JìTsingyuan Qīngyuàn1928 renamed from ChihliTsingyuan was renamed to Baoding (保定) after 1949HunanHúnánXiāngChangshaChángshāHupehHúběiÈWuchangWǔchāngHsinganXīng'ānXīngHailar Hǎilā'ěr1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Heilungkiang)Hailar was renamed to Hulunbuir (呼倫貝爾) after 1949JeholRèhéRèChengtehChéngdé1928 reformed from a special administrative region, 1945 recreated from ManchukuoKansuGānsùLǒngLanchowLánzhōuKiangsiJiāngxīGànNanchangNánchāngKiangsuJiāngsūSūChinkiangZhènjiāngKirinJílínJíKirinJílín1945 recreated from ManchukuoKwangsiGuǎngxīGuìKweilinGuìlínKwangtungGuǎngdōngYuèCantonGuǎngzhōuKweichowGuìzhōuQiánKweiyangGuìyángLiaoningLiáoníngLiáoMukdenShěnyáng1929 renamed from Fengtien, 1945 recreated from ManchukuoLiaopehLiáoběiTáoLiaoyuanLiáoyuán1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Liaoning)NingsiaNíngxiàNíngYinchwanYínchuān1928 created from KansuNunkiangNènjiāngNènTsitsihar Qíqíhā'ěr1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Heilungkiang)ShansiShānxīJìnTaiyuanTàiyuánShantungShāndōngLǔTsinanJǐnánShensiShǎnxīShǎnSianXī'ānSikangXīkāngKāngKangtingKāngdìng1928 reformed from a special administrative regionSinkiangXīnjiāngXīnTihwaDíhuàTihwa was renamed Ürümqi (烏魯木齊) after 1949SuiyuanSuīyuǎnSuīKweisuiGuīsuī1928 reformed from a special administrative regionKweisui was renamed Hohhot (呼和浩特) after 1949SungkiangSōngjiāngSōngMutankiangMǔdānjiāng1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Kirin)SzechwanSìchuānShǔChengtuChéngdūTaiwanTáiwānTáiTaipeiTáiběi1945 annexed from JapanConsists of Taiwan and Penghu islandsTsinghaiQīnghǎiQīngSiningXīníng1928 reformed from an areaYunnanYúnnánDiānKunmingKūnmíng Special Administrative Regions ( Tèbiéxíngzhèngqū)HainanHǎinánQióngHaikowHǎikǒu1931 Kiung-ai (瓊崖) was planned to create, 1949 created from KwangtungTungshengDōngshěngDōngshěngHarbinHā'ěrbīn1932 abolished by ManchukuoWeihaiWēihāiWēihāiWeihaiWēihāi1930 acquired from the United Kingdom, 1945 abolished → Shantung Areas ( Dìfāng)MongoliaMénggǔMéngKhureeKùlúnKhuree was renamed Ulaan Bator after the independence of Mongolia TibetXīzàngZàngLhasaLāsà Special municipalities ( Zhíxiáshì)CantonGuǎngzhōuSuìJanuary 1930 created from Kwangtung, June 1930 merged back. 1947 recreatedChungkingChóngqìngYú1927 created from SzechwanDairenDàliánLián1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Liaoning)HankowHànkǒuHàn1927 created Wuhan from Hupeh, 1929 renamed to Hankow, 1931 merged back, 1947 recreatedHarbinHā'ěrbīnHā1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Heilungkiang)MukdenShěnyángShěn1947 created from Manchukuo (originally part of Liaoning)NankingNánjīngJīng1927 created from KiangsuPeipingBěipíngPíng1928 created from Hopeh, Jun 1930 merged back, Dec 1930 recreated. 1949 renamed back to Peking (北京)ShanghaiShànghǎiHù1927 reform Sunghu commercial region to a municipality, created from KiangsuSianXī'ānĀn1933 planned to create Siking (西京), 1947 created from ShensiTientsinTiānjīnJīn1928 created from Hopeh, 1930 merged back. 1935 recreatedTsingtaoQīngdǎoQīng1929 created from Shantung.
Administrative divisions published after 1949
After its loss of the mainland to the Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War and its retreat to Taiwan in 1949, the Nationalist Party continued to regard the Republic of China as the internationally recognized sole legitimate government of China. The jurisdiction of the Republic was restricted to Taiwan, the Penghu, and a few islands off Fujian, but the Republic of China has never retracted its claim to mainland China. Moreover, the Kuomintang government in Taiwan unilaterally overturned its recognition of Mongolia in 1953. Accordingly, the official first-order divisions of Republic of China remain the historical divisions of China immediately prior to the loss of mainland China and maps of China and the world published in Taiwan sometimes show provincial and national boundaries as they were in 1949, ignoring changes made by the Communist government and including Outer Mongolia (includes Tannu Uriankhai), Jiangxinpo (northern Burma/Kachin State), as part of the Republic. Until 1998, the authorities in Taiwan still published relevant maps.內政部地政司地政法規檢索 法規沿革