Prefecture-level cities are one of the administrative divisions in China. In China, the administrative status belongs to the prefecture-level administrative region, so it is called "prefecture-level city" because its administrative system level is the same as that of the region.
As of 20 17 and 10, there are 334 prefecture-level administrative regions in China, including 294 prefecture-level cities, 30 autonomous prefectures, 7 regions and 3 leagues. The number of prefecture-level cities accounts for about 88% of the total number of prefecture-level administrative regions, and prefecture-level cities gradually replace regions as the main body of prefecture-level administrative regions.
In 20 17, the number of effective invention patents in Baoji ranked first among prefecture-level cities in the province.
Sansha City is the youngest prefecture-level city in China, which was newly established on July 20 12 with the cancellation of the original offices of Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands and zhongsha islands.