专区

noun

prefecture; special administrative district (established by provinces and autonomous regions, 1949-1975, later renamed 地区)

Historical administrative division in the PRC that existed from 1949 to 1975, typically comprising several counties and county-level cities. It was an intermediate level between the province and the county. After 1975, these were renamed 地区 (dìqū, prefecture) and later mostly converted into prefecture-level cities.