China has 23 provinces (省), 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing), and 2 special administrative regions (Hong Kong, Macau).
usage
Reads shěng for the province / save / omit senses (省钱, 省略), and xǐng for the scrutinize / reflect / visit-elders senses (反省, 省亲). Same character, two unrelated word families.
Bottom indexing radical 目 (eye) — pictograph rotated vertically from a horizontal eye-shape. The eye doing the inspecting in 省's original 'scrutinise' meaning. Same radical groups vision chars: 看, 眼, 睡.
Top 少 (few, little). Compound ideograph: 'narrow the eye' or 'see less' — the original sense was to inspect closely by squinting, then to examine or scrutinise. From 'examine' it extended to an administrative division (a region under inspection) and to economise (use less). Faintly phonetic too (shǎo → shěng).
