Direct-controlled municipalities are the highest-level cities in China, with status equal to that of the provinces. Both the People's Republic of China (PRC) on mainland China and the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan adopt this system with some variations. Geographically and culturally, many of the Chinese municipalities are enclaves in the middle of provinces. Some occur in strategic positions in between provinces. Current municipalities of PRC are Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing, and current municipalities under ROC administration are Kaohsiung and Taipei.
Mainland municipalities can be quite large. All four municipalities extend far beyond their urban areas into the surrounding areas, encompassing towns, villages, farmland, hills, and other areas that are much larger than the urban area. The largest municipality, Chongqing, is larger in size than the smallest province, Hainan.
Taiwan municipalities are smaller than their urban areas. The urban area of Taipei and Kaohsiung municipalities spill out of their borders into Taipei County and Kaohsiung County, respectively.
For information on the administrative structure of China and how municipalities fit within it, see political divisions of China, political divisions of the Republic of China.
