Township is at the fourth level of China's administrative division system. It's the lowest amognst China's government system , the grassroot government.

This table summarizes the divisions of the area administered by the People's Republic of China as of December 31, 2005.

Level	Name	Types
1	Province level 省级行政区	Provinces (省 shěng) (22) Autonomous regions (自治区 zìzhìqū) (5) Municipalities directly under central government (直辖市 zhíxiáshì) (4) Special administrative regions (特别行政区 tèbié xíngzhèngqū) (2)
2	Prefecture level 地级行政区	Prefectures (地区 dìqū) (17) Autonomous prefectures(自治州 zìzhìzhōu) (30) Prefecture-level municipalities/cities (地级市 dìjíshì) (283) Leagues (盟 méng) (3)
3	County level 县级行政区	Counties (县 xiàn) (1,464) Autonomous counties (自治县 zìzhìxiàn) (117) County-level cities(县级市 xiànjíshì) (374) Districts (市辖区 shìxiáqū) (852) Banners (旗 qí) (49) Autonomous banners (自治旗 zìzhìqí) (3) Forestry areas (林区 línqū) (1) Special districts (特区 tèqū) (2)
4	Township level 乡级行政区	Townships (乡 xiāng) (14,677) Ethnic townships (民族乡 mínzúxiāng) (1,092) Towns(镇 zhèn) (19,522) Subdistricts(街道办事处 jiēdàobànshìchù) (6,152) District public offices(区公所 qūgōngsuǒ) (11) Sumu (苏木 sūmù) (181) Ethnic sumu (民族苏木 mínzúsūmù) (1)
5	Village level (informal) 村级自治组织	Neighborhood committees (社区居民委员会 jūmínwěiyuánhùi) (80,717) Communities (社区) Village committees (村民委员会 cūnmínwěiyuánhùi) (623,669) Administrative villages (行政村 xíngzhèngcūn) Natural villages (自然村 zìráncūn) Village groups (村民小组 cūnmínxiǎozǔ)

Township level
Township level subdivisions

• 14,677 Townships (乡; xiāng)— in smaller rural areas division they are divided into this subject
• Ethnic Townships (民族乡; mínzúxiāng)— in a small one or more designated ethnic minorities rural areas division they are divided into this subject
• 19,522 Towns (镇; zhèn)— in larger rural areas division they are divided into this subject
• 6,152 Subdistricts (街道办事处; jiēdàobànshìchù)— in a small urban areas division they are divided into this subject.
  "街道办事处" is usually shorted to be "街道",or "办事处", which may give rise to ambiguity because someone may take it as "street" or "representive office" instead of subdistrict.
• 11 District Public Offices (区公所; qūgōngsuǒ)— are a vestigial level of government. These once represented an extra level of government between the county- and township-levels. Today there are very few of these remaining and they are gradually being phased out.
• 181 Sumus (苏木; sūmù)— are the same as townships, but are unique to Inner Mongolia.
• 1 Ethnic Sumus (民族苏木; mínzúsūmù)— are the same as ethnic townships, but are unique to Inner Mongolia.

Village level
The village level serves as an organizational division (census, mail system) and does not have much importance in political representative power. Basic local divisions like neighborhoods and communities are not informal like in the West, but have defined boundaries and designated heads (one per area):
In urban areas, every subdistrict of a district of a city administers many communities or neighborhoods. Each of them have a neighborhood committee to administer the dwellers of that neighborhood or community. Rural areas are organized into village committees or villager groups. A "village" in this case can either be a natural village, one that spontaneously and naturally exists, or an administrative village, which is a bureaucratic entity.
Village level subdivisions

• 80,717 Neighborhood Committees (社区居民委员会; jūmínwěiyuánhùi)
  Neighborhoods / Communities (社区; shèqū)
  
• 623,669 Village Committees / Village groups ((村民委员会 / 村民小组; cūnmínwěiyuánhùi / cūnmínxiǎozǔ)
  Administrative Villages (行政村; xíngzhèngcūn)
  Natural Villages (自然村; zìráncūn)
  
• Informal
  City-Type Neighborhood (居民区; jūmínqū)
  City-Type Communities (社区; shèqū)