Special status in Chinese state administration:


Five cities formally on prefectural level have a special status in regard to planning and budget. They are separately listed in the five-year and annual state plans on the same level as provinces and national ministries, making them economically independent of their provincial government. These cities specifically designated in the state plan (simplified Chinese: 计划单列市) are

* Dalian (Liaoning)
* Ningbo (Zhejiang)
* Qingdao (Shandong)
* Shenzhen (Guangdong)
* Xiamen (Fujian)