Administrative Division Changes after 1949

1949: the district system

On 25 April 1949 Lishui adopted the district system, under the Zhenjiang Prefecture of the Southern Jiangsu Administrative Office. In March 1983 Lishui County was transferred from Zhenjiang Prefecture back to the jurisdiction of Nanjing. Both statements rest on the district government's "Historical Evolution" page. The changes of jurisdiction between the two, from 1949 to 1983, are not recorded in any source held by this site and are not supplied here.

2013: the county becomes a district

On 8 February 2013 the State Council reply "Approving the Adjustment of Part of the Administrative Divisions of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province" (Guohan [2013] No. 24) approved the abolition of Lishui County and the establishment of Lishui District of Nanjing, the district taking the territory of the former county. The district government's wording is that "in February 2013, with provincial government approval, Lishui County was abolished and Lishui District of Nanjing established".

The source record explains the relation between the two: the State Council reply is dated 8 February 2013 and does not conflict with the phrase "February 2013"; the entry sets out the date of approval and the date of implementation side by side and does not conflate them. Counting from the founding of the county in 591 CE to 2013, Lishui had been a county for 1,422 years.

Towns made into subdistricts

On 15 May 2018 the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government approved the abolition of Dongping, Honglan and Shiqiu towns in Lishui District and the establishment of Dongping, Honglan and Shiqiu subdistricts. The reply concerns those three towns only.

As for the conversion of Yongyang and Zhetang towns into subdistricts in 2015, the only source held by this site that mentions it is the explanatory note attached to the 2018 reply, which states that "the conversion of Yongyang and Zhetang towns in 2015 was a separate adjustment". That is a passing remark in that source, not the text of the reply for the 2015 adjustment; it is reproduced here as such, and the number and date of that reply remain to be verified.

Current divisions

The district now has five subdistricts — Yongyang, Zhetang, Dongping, Honglan and Shiqiu — and three towns — Baima, Hefeng and Jingqiao. The list follows the district government's "Administrative Divisions" page (accessed 25 September 2026). Where an older place name in a historical entry (such as Honglan Town or Zhetang Town) differs from the current generic term, the text uses the name of the time and notes the present equivalent in brackets.

Uncertainties

First, the changes of jurisdiction between 1949 and 1983 are not recorded in the available sources and are not written up.

Second, for the 2015 conversion there is no original reply text, and the account rests on the passing remark in the 2018 reply — indirect evidence.

Third, the county-level divisions of the 1990s, such as the consolidation of townships into towns, are not recorded in the available sources and are not written up.