A direct-administered municipality (直辖市; Zhíxiáshì; 'direct-administered city'; commonly known as municipality)^[1] is a city of China that is directly affiliated with the central government and is not placed under any provinces. There are four municipalities in China: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing.

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Municipality 直辖市 Zhíxiáshì
Number	4 (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing)

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Although being as a city by name, a municipality is more than city in a traditional sense. It is usually composed of a central urban area and a number of much larger surrounding suburban and rural areas.

During the Republic of China, 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 under the Republic of 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 control. These cities were first called special municipalities/cities (特别市; tèbiéshì), but were later renamed Yuan-controlled municipalities (院辖市; yuànxiáshì), then direct-controlled municipalities (直辖市; zhíxiáshì) by the Central Government of the People's Republic of China.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Anshan, Benxi, and Fushun were also made municipalities, while Qingdao, Dalian, and Harbin were reduced to provincial municipalities.^[2] Hankou was merged into Wuhan, which became a municipality of its own. Hence, there remained 12 municipalities. In November 1952, Nanjing was reduced to a provincial municipality in Jiangsu.^[3] In March 1953, Lüda, which had resulted from the merger of Dalian and Lüshun in December 1950, was made a municipality. In July 1953, Harbin was restored to municipality status, whereas Changchun acquired that status for the first time.^[4] 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 sub-provincial cities; many of them became capitals of the provinces they were in. Only Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin remained municipalities, until Chongqing was restored as a municipality in 1997 with a much enlarged area. Tianjin was also temporarily reverted to sub-provincial city status between 1958 and 1967.^{[citation needed]}

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.

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

1. Municipalities (直辖市; 直轄市; zhíxiáshì);
2. Prefecture-level cities (地级市; 地級市; dìjíshì), including sub-provincial cities; and,
3. County-level cities (县级市; 縣級市; xiànjíshì), including sub-prefectural cities.

In municipalities, the highest ranking government official is the mayor. The mayor is also a delegate in the National People's Congress (the legislature)^[5] and deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Municipal Committee. However, the highest administrative authority in the municipality belongs to the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary.

• Independent city
• Federal city
  • Federal cities of Russia — similar systems
• Imperial immediacy