Greater administrative area


Greater administrative areas were early top-level administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China that directly governed provinces and municipalities. These were the largest-ever political divisions of China and were controlled by the Central People's Government. They were dissolved between June and November 1954.

List

The greater administrative areas originated from the districts governed by governors-general established during the late Qing dynasty. The six greater administrative areas were:

History

The highest officials of the greater administrative areas were known as chairmen.
North China Area was the first to be abandoned on October 31, 1949 when New China's capital was established in Beijing. The provinces it governed were thenceforth directly controlled by the North China Branch of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government instead. In May 1952, control was again transferred, this time to the North China Administrative Council of the Government Administration Council.
Several other large-scale entities governed parts of China's territory during this time and were equivalent to greater administrative areas:
Except the Northeast, which was governed by a People's Government, the areas' highest government bodies were Military and Administrative Committees, which were replaced by administrative councils in November 1952.
Several domains in China today retain the same structure of geographic divisions as the GAAs. Military administrative regions, the divisions of some major banks, and civil aviation districts are still divided in the same form as the greater administrative areas.