The most important part of the Yuan Empire was the Central Region, which covered the region of the Yuan capital Khanbaliq. The Central Region consisted of present-day Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, the south-eastern part of present-day Inner Mongolia and the Henan areas to the north of the Yellow River. Since it was considered the most important region of the dynasty, it was directly governed by the Zhongshu Sheng at Khanbaliq; similarly, another top-level administrative department called the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs held administrative rule over Tibet. Branch Secretariats, or simply provinces, were provincial-level administrative organizations or institutions subordinated to the Zhongshu Sheng, though they were not exactly provinces in modern sense. There were 11 "regular" provinces in Yuan dynasty. Below the level of provinces, the largest political division was the circuit, followed by lù, fǔ and zhōu. These are three kinds of prefecture-like divisions. The lowest political division was the xiàn or counties. Basically, lù is higher than fǔ, and fǔ is higher than zhōu.However, the actual relationship between them could be very complicated. Both lù, fǔ and zhōu could administer counties. Some fǔ and zhōu are directly administered by the province, while some exist inside a lù. A lù usually administers several counties, along with several fǔ and zhōu, and the fǔ or zhōu themselves could also administer their own counties. As a result, it is impossible to exactly define how many tiers of divisions there are under a province. This government structure at the provincial level was later inherited and modified by the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Shaanxi province with Xi'an as its seat of government. Under this came the majority of present-day Shaanxi Province, the south-western part of Inner Mongolia, south-eastern Gansu, north-western Sichuan, and a small part of Qinghai. Founded in 1260.
Sichuan province with Chengdu at its seat of government. Under this came most of the western half of present-day Sichuan Province, Chongqing, and parts of south-western Shaanxi. Founded in 1294.
Yunnan province with Kunming as its seat of government. Under this came present-day Yunnan Province, parts of western Guizhou and north-eastern part of Burma. The Duan family of the Dali Kingdom reigned in Dali as Maharajahs while the Governors served in Kunming. Founded in 1274.
Zhengdong province with Kaesong of present-day Korea as its seat of government. Despite being listed as a regular province, it was still special in that it had the king of Goryeo, who married to the imperial Mongol princesses, as its head, and Goryeo survived under Yuan overlordship. Furthermore, it was originally set up to invade Japan.
Special provinces (Branch Secretariats)
These provinces or Branch Secretariats were set up before or during the invasions of certain regions outside the Yuan, such as Japan, Vietnam and Burma. They were usually abolished after the wars.
Zhengdong province, also referred to as "Japanese Expedition province" : Originally set up during the invasion of Japan in 1281, with the king of Goryeo as its head. It was abolished when the invasion of Japan had failed. However, it was again set up in 1287, and gradually became a regular province which special characteristics.
Zhengmian province, also referred to as "Middle of Burma province", was the Branch Secretariat set up during the invasion of Burma.
Zhancheng province, was the Branch Secretariat set up during the invasion of Champa.
Region under the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs
The Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, or Xuanzheng Yuan was a government agency and top-level administrative department set up in Khanbaliq that supervised Buddhist monks in addition to managing the territory of Tibet. Besides modern-day Tibet Autonomous Region, it also governed a part of Sichuan, Qinghai and Kashmir. It was separate from the other provinces of the Yuan dynasty such as those of former Song dynasty of China, but still under the administrative rule of the Yuan. While no modern equivalents remain, the political functions of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs might have been analogous to the India Office in London during the British Raj. To emphasize its importance for Hangzhou, the capital of the former Southern Song dynasty, a branch Xuanzheng Yuan was established in that city in 1291.
