Zigui County ( simplified Chinese : 秭归 县 ; traditional Chinese : 秭歸 縣 ; pinyin : Zǐguī Xiàn ) is a county of western Hubei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yichang and encompasses the easternmost portion of the Yangtze River Gorges, including the Xiling Gorge .
15-633: The county seat of Zigui is now the town of Maoping ( 茅坪镇 ; Máopíng Zhèn ), situated a few kilometers west of the Three Gorges Dam on the high southern shore of the river. The original Zigui town was upstream to the west and was abandoned and submerged under the rising waters of the reservoir in the early years of the 21st century. As it is common in China, Maoping is typically labelled as "Zigui County" ( 秭归县 ) or simply "Zigui" ( 秭归 ) on most maps. Eight towns: Four townships: A good view of
30-401: A higher-level administrative units, the borders of a town would typically include an urban core (a small town with the population on the order of 10,000 people), as well as rural area with some villages ( 村 ; cūn , or 庄 ; zhuāng ). A typical provincial map would merely show a town as a circle centered at its urban area and labeled with its name, while a more detailed one (e.g., a map of
45-616: A population over 50,000. In June 1955, the State Council issued the "Decision on the Establishment of Cities and Towns", which clarified the criteria for the establishment of towns. By the end of 1978, there were only 2,173 townships in the country. After the abolition of the people's commune system , the establishment of townships was given importance. On 29 November 1984, the State Council announced new standards for
60-427: A provincial atlas - would label the county seat location with both the name of the county (e.g., 通山县 ; Tōngshān xiàn ) and, below, and in a smaller font, with the name of the township (e.g., 通羊镇 ; Tōngyáng zhèn ). Intercity buses, trains, or riverboats destined to, or stopping at a county seat may designate its destination either by the name of the county or the name of the county-seat township. In contrast to
75-419: A single county-level division) would also show the borders dividing the county or county-level city into towns ( 镇 ) and/or township ( 乡 ) and subdistrict (街道) units. The town in which the county level government, and usually the division's main urban area), are located is often not marked on less-detailed maps, because its location is usually labeled with the name of the county level division rather than
90-521: Is the standard English translation of the Chinese 镇 (traditional: 鎮 ; pinyin : zhèn ; Wade–Giles : chen ). The Constitution of the People's Republic of China classifies towns as third-level administrative units, along with, for example, townships ( Chinese : 乡 ; pinyin : xiāng ). A township is typically smaller in population and more remote than a town. Similarly to
105-1560: The PRC, in the official translation adopted in the ROC , both the characters " 鄉 " (pinyin: xiāng ) and " 鎮 " ( zhèn ) are translated as "townships", with zhèn specifically being "urban" township, 'with xiāng specifically translated as "rural" township Townships of China Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing) Prefectures Provincial-controlled cities Provincial-controlled counties Autonomous counties County-level cities Districts Ethnic districts Banners (Hoxu) Autonomous banners Shennongjia Forestry District Liuzhi Special District Wolong Special Administrative Region Workers and peasants districts Ethnic townships Towns Subdistricts Subdistrict bureaux Sum Ethnic sum County-controlled districts County-controlled district bureaux (obsolete) Management committees Town-level city Areas Villages · Gaqa · Ranches Village Committees Communities Capital cities New areas Autonomous administrative divisions National Central Cities History: before 1912 , 1912–49 , 1949–present Townships ( simplified Chinese : 乡 ; traditional Chinese : 鄉 ; pinyin : xiāng ), formally township-level divisions (Chinese: 乡级行政区 ; pinyin: Xiāng Jí Xíngzhèngqū ), are
120-531: The PRC. Much like other levels of government in mainland China, the township's governance is divided between the Communist Party Township Secretary, and the " county magistrate " (Chinese: 乡长 ; pinyin: xiāngzhǎng ). The township party secretary, along with the township's party committee, determines policy. The magistrate is in charge of administering the daily affairs of government and executing policies as determined by
135-543: The Three Gorges Dam, and of an ancillary dam further south, can be had from Maoping's riverside parks. Most of Zigui is hilly or mountainous with basic farming and tea production. There are many small coal mines in the mountains, with the coal trucked to the river then loaded onto barges for shipping downstream. Passenger boats and ferries travelling up and down the river can dock at the large passenger dock ("Zigui Harbor", 秭归港) at Maoping, or at Taipingxi Town on
150-531: The basic level (fourth-level administrative units) of political divisions in the People's Republic of China . They are similar to municipalities and communes in other countries and in turn may contain village committees and villages. In 1995 there were 29,648 townships and 17,570 towns (a total of 47,218 township-level divisions) in China which included the territories held by the Republic of China and claimed by
165-701: The establishment of townships. A similar to township unit in the system of administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China is a region with self-jurisdiction which functions at a PRC township-level administrative division. Divisions of this sort can include development zones, science and technology parks, university cities , companies , farms , fishing ground , ranches , orchards , national parks , etc., even prisons . The township-level administrative division (the lowest level division) includes townships, towns , subdistricts , ethnic townships , and sums . Some county-level administrative districts that govern towns and villages will also be defined as
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#1732783011304180-409: The founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, there was a lack of uniform regulations for establishing towns, and there were too many towns formed. By the end of 1954, there were 5,400 towns throughout the country, including 920 with a population of less than 2,000, 2,302 with a population of 2,000-5,000, 1,373 with a population of 5,000-10,000, 784 with a population of 10,000-50,000, and 21 with
195-529: The name of the actual town into which this urban area falls. For example, the county government of Tongshan County is located in Tongyang Town ( 通羊镇 ; Tōngyáng zhèn ), but the maps would normally show it with a circle labeled "Tongshan County" ( 通山县 ) or simply "Tongshan" ( 通山 ). Road signs would also normally show distance to "Tongshan" rather than "Tongyang". On the other hand, more detailed maps - e.g., maps of individual prefecture-level cities in
210-1295: The north bank close to the Dam. Frequent bus service connects Maoping with the center city of Yichang to the east; there is also bus service to most towns in the county, as well as to the neighboring counties. Town (China) Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing) Prefectures Provincial-controlled cities Provincial-controlled counties Autonomous counties County-level cities Districts Ethnic districts Banners (Hoxu) Autonomous banners Shennongjia Forestry District Liuzhi Special District Wolong Special Administrative Region Workers and peasants districts Ethnic townships Towns Subdistricts Subdistrict bureaux Sum Ethnic sum County-controlled districts County-controlled district bureaux (obsolete) Management committees Town-level city Areas Villages · Gaqa · Ranches Village Committees Communities Capital cities New areas Autonomous administrative divisions National Central Cities History: before 1912 , 1912–49 , 1949–present When referring to political divisions of China , town
225-465: The party committee. A township official is the lowest-level ranked official in the civil service hierarchy; in practice, however, the township party secretary and magistrate can amass high levels of personal power. A township government is formally responsible for local economic development, planning, maintenance of local roads, family planning, sanitation & health, sports, and "other responsibilities as determined by higher level governments". After
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