When referring to political divisions of China, town is the standard English translation of the Chinese . The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China currently classifies towns as third-level administrative units, along with townships and ethnic minority townships. A township is typically smaller in population and more remote than a town. Similarly to a higher-level administrative units, the borders of a town would typically include an urban core, as well as rural area with some villages. Towns in China are relatively small in size and in population compared to cities, but those with particular characteristics can enjoy great popularity among tourists. For example, the ancient town of Fenghuang attracts young backpackers every year for its minority ethnic culture and architecture.
Map representation
A typical provincial map would merely show a zhen with a circle centered at its urban area and labeled with its name, while a more detailed one would also show the borders dividing the county or county-level city into town and/or township units. , is often labeled "Zigui" on less-detailed maps The town in which the county government is located is often "invisible" on less-detailed maps, because its circle is usually labeled with the name of the county rather than the name of the actual zhen into which this urban area falls. For example, the county government of Tongshan County, Hubei is located in Tongyang Town, but the maps would normally show it with a circle labeled "Tongshan County" or simply "Tongshan". Road signs would also normally show distance to "Tongshan" rather than "Tongyang". On the other hand, more detailed maps - e.g., maps of individual prefecture-level cities in a provincial atlas - would label the county seat location with both the name of the county and, below, and in a smaller font, with the name of the township. Intercity buses, trains, or riverboats destined to, or stopping at a county seat may designate its destination either by the name of the county or the name of the county-seat township.
Usage of ''zhen'' in Taiwan
In contrast to the PRC, in the official translation adopted in the ROC, both the characters "鄉" and "鎮" are translated as "townships", with zhèn specifically being "urban" township, 'with xiāng specifically translated as "rural" township
