(Promulgated by Decree No.353 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on May 13, 2002, and effective as of July 1, 2002)

Article 1These Regulations are formulated for the purposes of consolidating the achievements in the demarcation of administrative boundaries, strengthening the administration of administrative boundaries, and maintaining the stability in areas along administrative boundaries.

Article 2For the purpose of these Regulations, administrative boundaries refer to the boundaries approved by the State Council or the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government, within which the relevant people's governments whose administrative areas are adjacent to each other exercise their respective jurisdiction.

The local people's governments at various levels shall strictly implement the provisions of the approval documents and the agreements on administrative boundaries, and uphold the solemnity and stability of administrative boundaries. No organization or individual may change administrative boundaries without authorization.

Article 3The civil affairs department of the State Council shall be responsible for the administration of administrative boundaries throughout the country. The civil affairs departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the administration of administrative boundaries of their respective administrative areas.

Article 4After being demarcated, administrative boundaries shall be published in an announcement together with a detailed map thereof.

The administrative boundaries of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be published by the civil affairs department of the State Council and jointly administered by the people's governments of the adjacent provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. The administrative boundaries within provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be published by the people's governments of respective provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government and jointly administrated by the people's governments of the adjacent autonomous prefectures, counties (autonomous counties), cities and municipal districts.

Article 5The actual location of administrative boundaries shall be marked by boundary stakes, line-shaped terrains such as rivers, fosses or roads that are used as administrative boundary markers or other markers indicating the alignment of the administrative boundaries that are explicitly specified in the agreements on administrative boundaries.

Article 6No organization or individual may, without authorization, move or damage boundary stakes. The illegal movement of boundary stakes shall be invalid.

The relevant people's governments whose administrative boundaries are adjacent to each other shall, in accordance with the provisions of the agreements on administrative boundaries, carry out the administration of the boundary stakes on the basis of work division. The damaged boundary stakes shall be repaired by the party who administers them in the presence of the adjacent party.

Where there is a need to move or erect new boundary stakes due to construction, development or other reasons, the relevant people's governments whose administrative boundaries are adjacent to each other shall reach an agreement on this issue through consultation, jointly carry out the surveying and mapping therefor, supplement new data to the archives thereof, and submit such archives to the organ that approved that administrative boundaries for the record.

Article 7Neither of the parties whose administrative boundaries are adjacent to each other may change the line-shaped terrains such as rivers, fosses, or roads that are used as administrative boundary markers without authorization; where the line-shaped terrains are changed due to natural forces or other reasons, the administrative boundaries concerned shall be kept in their original location as defined in the agreement on such administrative boundaries, except as otherwise stipulated in that agreement.

Article 8Other markers that are explicitly designated in the agreement on administrative boundaries to indicate the alignment of administrative boundaries shall be kept in their original state. Where such markers are changed due to natural force or other reasons, the civil affairs departments of the relevant people's governments at or above the county level shall organize the resurvey, designate new markers, and submit the results to the organ that approved such administrative boundaries for the record.

Article 9Where a change in administrative boundaries is approved in accordance with the Provisions of the State Council on Administration of Administrative Division, the relevant people's governments whose administrative boundaries are adjacent to each other shall carry out the surveying and mapping therefor in accordance with the technical procedures of surveying and mapping, erect new boundary stakes, conclude an agreement thereon and submit the agreement concluded to the organ that approved such administrative boundaries for the record.

Article 10Where the land for production and construction stretches over the administrative boundary, the consent of the relevant adjacent people's governments shall be obtained beforehand, formalities for examination and approval shall be completed respectively, and such matter shall be reported to the organ that approved such administrative boundaries for the record.

Article 11Where it is confirmed through the demarcation of administrative boundaries that a locality belongs to one administrative area but is not connected with the main part of that administrative area or a locality is used and administered by the people's government of one administrative area but located within another adjacent administrative area, the use and administration of such locality shall be subject to the relevant provisions of the agreement on administrative boundaries concluded by the relevant people's governments or to the decision of the organ that approved such administrative boundaries.

Article 12The local people's governments at or above the county level that have common administrative boundaries shall establish a system of joint inspection over administrative boundaries and carry out a joint inspection every five years. In case of special circumstances such as natural disaster, change of river course, or change of road which influence the alignment of the administrative boundaries, the relevant people's governments that have common administrative boundaries shall, whenever necessary, carry out joint inspection over the relevant part of such administrative boundaries, and the result of the joint inspection shall be submitted jointly by the participant people's governments to the organ that approved such administrative boundaries for the record.

Article 13The agreements, work maps, records of boundary markers, materials for the record, approval documents and other materials concerning the demarcation records that are produced in demarcation and administration of administrative boundaries shall be filed and properly preserved as achieves in accordance with the relevant laws and administrative regulations on archive administration.

Article 14The detailed map of administrative boundaries is a specialized map of the State showing the standard drawing of administrative boundaries of the administrative areas at or above the county level. In any other kind of map involving administrative boundaries, the drawing of administrative boundaries shall take such detailed map as standard.

The civil affairs department of the State Council shall be responsible for drawing the detailed maps of administrative boundaries of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; the civil affairs departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for drawing the detailed maps of administrative boundaries within their respective administrative areas.

Article 15The disputes over the actual location of administrative boundaries shall be settled by the organ that approved such administrative boundaries in accordance with the relevant provisions of the agreement on such administrative boundaries.

Article 16Any of State functionaries who, in violation of the provisions of these Regulations, commits one of the following acts in administering administrative boundaries shall be given the administrative sanction of recording a grave demerit, demotion or dismissal from the post in light of different circumstances; if such an act causes heavy loss to public property or the interests of the State or the people, he shall be investigated for criminal liability in accordance with the provisions of the criminal law on the crime of abuse of power or the crime of neglect of duty:

(1)failing to fulfill the duties laid down in the approval documents of and the agreements on administrative boundaries, or failing to implement the decisions of the organ that approved the administrative boundaries;

(2) failing to publish the approved administrative boundaries according to law;

(3)moving or changing administrative boundary markers without authorization, or ordering or instigating others to commit such acts, or failing to stop others from committing such acts upon discovery of their commission of such acts;

(4) repairing without authorization administrative boundary markers in the absence of adjacent party concerned.

Article 17Where anyone, in violation of the provisions of these Regulations, deliberately damages or moves without authorization boundary stakes or other administrative boundary markers, he shall pay off the expenses for repairing such markers and be fined not more than 1,000 yuan by the civil affairs department of the local people's government that administers such administrative boundaries; if such act constitutes a violation of public security administration, he shall be given a penalty for public security violations according to law.

Article 18Where anyone, in violation of the provisions of these Regulations, draws a detailed map of administrative boundaries without authorization or the drawing of the administrative boundaries in the map that he has drawn is not consistent with that in the detailed map of administrative boundaries, the civil affairs department of relevant people's government shall order him to stop such illegal acts, confiscate all the illegally drawn detailed map of administrative boundaries and the illegal income, and concurrently impose a fine not more than 10,000 yuan.

Article 19The administrative boundaries of townships, nationality townships and towns shall be administered with reference to the relevant provisions of these Regulations.

Article 20These Regulations shall be effective as of July 1, 2002.