民族区域自治

Regional Ethnic Autonomy

In China, ethnic minority groups, under unified State leadership, practice regional autonomy in areas where they live in concentrated communities. It is an essential political principle to guarantee the rights of the ethnic minorities to administer their internal affairs embodying the government's adherence to the principle of equality, unity, and common prosperity for all its ethnic groups. Established in 1947, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, under the leadership of the CPC, was the first province-level minority-inhabited area to adopt the autonomy. The Xinjiang Uygur, Guangxi Zhuang, Ningxia Hui, and Tibet autonomous regions were set up after founding of the People's Republic. To date, there are five autonomous regions, 30 autonomous prefectures, 120 autonomous counties, and 1,173 autonomous townships.