A sub-provincial division (simplified Chinese: 副省级行政区; traditional Chinese: 副省級行政區; pinyin: fùshĕngjí xíngzhèngqū) (or deputy-provincial divisions) in China is like a prefecture-level city that is governed by a province, but is administered independently in regard to economy and law. Sub-provincial divisions, similar to prefectural-level divisions, are administrative units comprising, typically, a main central urban area, and its much larger surrounding rural area containing many smaller cities, towns and villages.