The local administrative divisions in the United States are generally at the state-county-township (town) level. There are other states that are different. Here, we will use typical midwestern States to illustrate them.

The country is equivalent to the province of China, and there is basically no difference in geographical division.

Counties are equivalent to counties in China, and there is basically no difference in geographical division.

But villages and towns are different. Think about China. There is always a boundary line between every village and town. This land, this house, is either this village or that village. This is clear and simple.

But in the United States, villages and towns just refer to one town after another, such as a town, just referring to several streets in the town. After crossing these streets, it is out of the jurisdiction of this town. So if I live in the countryside, people in China will say that I'm from * * county and * * township, but there is no such division in the United States. He only knows how many kilometers his home is from * * town and how many kilometers from * * township. Of course, any piece of land belongs to counties and states, just like China, but the administrative power of counties in the United States is very weak, which is far worse than that of counties in China. The county government is often still in the countryside, not in the city, so it is not the economic center, so it has no status unless it does something, and this concept is very weak in the United States.

Let's talk about the city. In China, the municipal level, which is not recognized by the Constitution, has actually become the most powerful level. However, there are no cities in the administrative divisions of the United States. We in China like to call American cities "San Francisco" and "Los Angeles". In fact, there is no such administrative region in the United States.

American cities are autonomous organizations, that is, they are not government organizations. Mayors and municipal governments, including city councils, are autonomous organizations organized by people in the city and will not implement the policies of the state government. This autonomous institution, like the township government, only manages the urban area. In the United States, the urban area is divided into two parts: the main urban area (that is, the downtown area) and the metropolitan area (plus the satellite city).

In the United States, if the size of a town grows, the citizens in the town can apply to cancel the town government and establish a "city", which is normal in the United States. So a city is a big town, or several big towns are merged. Of course, some cities are too big to occupy the land of one or several surrounding counties, all of which are urban areas, and all the counties here can be abolished. But outside the city or county.

Let's give two examples. One is "Silicon Valley", which we all say is located between San Francisco and San Jose, but it is not managed by San Francisco or San Jose because those two cities can only manage their urban areas. For example, if a city plans to build an airport, and the airport is 15 kilometers away from the urban area, then the airport may not be in this city. It belongs to a county outside, but it serves the city, so the city has to discuss with that county and get its consent before it can buy land to build the airport. This is completely different from China.

So an American usually says that his home is * * * kilometers away from * * city. People in China often ask which city you belong to ... who knows ... neither.

Of course, the situation in every state in the United States is different, and towns below the eastern county also include rural areas. There are also States with only a dozen cities, and there is no division of counties. The above is the division of most parts of the United States, and the typical area is the Midwest, as mentioned earlier.

It's tiring to play by hand ... I hope you can understand.