definition
strict definition
prefecture-level city
A Chinese city administered at prefecture level, usually containing counties and smaller cities.
A prefecture-level city sits below a province in China's hierarchy and above the counties and county-level cities within it.
The name misleads readers who expect a city. The unit governs a large territory, most of it rural, and its urban core may hold a small share of the population credited to it. A figure quoted for such a city is usually for the whole prefecture unless it names the urban districts.
Its urban core is divided into districts, which are regions one tier further down.