Provinces of China
Provincial-level administrative divisions () or first-level administrative divisions (), are the highest-level Chinese administrative divisions. There are 34 such divisions, classified as 23 provinces (), four municipalities, five autonomous regions, and two Special Administrative Regions. All but Taiwan Province and a small fraction of Fujian Province (currently administered by the Republic of China) are controlled by the People's Republic of China.
History of the administrative divisions of China before 1912
The Han dynasty initially added a top level of "kingdoms" or "principalities" (王国, "wángguó"), each headed by a local king or a prince of the imperial family. From the establishment of the dynasty, however, the tendency was slowly absorb this quasi-federal structure into the imperial bureaucracy. After the Rebellion of the Seven States, the system was standardized, replacing the kingdoms and principalities with thirteen provinces (州, "zhōu").