It consisted of the original 11 cities of Nanjing, Shanghai, Beiping (Beijing), Tianjin, Qingdao, Chongqing, Xi'an, Canton, Hankou District (now part of Wuhan), Shenyang, and Harbin.

These cities were first called special municipalities/cities (特別市; tèbiéshì), but were later renamed Yuan-controlled municipalities (院辖市; 院轄市; yuànxiáshì).

Before the end of World War II, the island of Taiwan (Formosa) was under Japanese rule, with 11 cities established within its administrative divisions.

The Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China lost the Chinese Civil War and relocated to Taipei, Taiwan.

By the time of its retreat, no special municipalities was established in Taiwan or other territories under effective control of the ROC government.

In 1979, the major international port and industrial city in the southwest of the country — Kaohsiung — were also upgraded to a special municipality.

In the Act also states that cities with population of over 1,250,000 and with significance on political, economic and cultural development may form a special municipality.

In 2009, another amendment of Local Government Act gave councils of counties and cities the right to file petitions to reform themselves into special municipalities.

Four proposals were approved by the Executive Yuan in 2009 The four newly created special municipalities were formally established on December 25, 2010 with the inauguration of the new mayors.