The correct answer is - B. market and administrative centers.
Most Chinese cities were market and administrative centers till the mid 1900's, or more specifically until 1958, when that changed with the implementation of the ''Great leap forward'' by Mao Zedong and his communist party. Until then the Chinese cities had greater economic autonomy and the country was functioning in a decentralized manner, were the economies were different from region to region, and every major city had a regional power and was dictating the market in a certain part of the country. With the ''Great leap forward'' the Chinese cities lost this regional power and authority, and the country was becoming centralized, which eventually led to big economic consequences instead of being the measure that will improve the economy of the country.
