The Qing dynasty held its first set of provincial assembly elections from February to June 1909. Following a lengthy period of political turmoil and the failure of the 1898 Hundred Days' Reform, the constitutionalist movement gained approval from the imperial court and Empress Dowager Cixi in the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion. Seeing local self-governance as a valuable initial step towards constitutionalism, the Qing Government approved the creation of provincial assemblies in 1907. The following year, an indirect election system was outlined to fill these assemblies. They would be held in 21 of the country's 22 provinces; Xinjiang elections were postponed due to low rates of Chinese literacy. Suffrage and candidacy was limited to a small population of wealthy men, most of whom were members of the scholar-gentry. Public attitudes towards the elections were generally apathetic, and corruption, fraud, and vote buying were common across the country. Turnout greatly varied between provinces and regions, but was generally low.

The elected provincial assemblies were composed largely of constitutionalists, which were often divided between progressive and conservative wings. Some assemblymen were clandestine members of the Tongmenghui revolutionary organization, although firm numbers are unknown. The assemblies agitated for a variety of economic and political reforms, which brought them into conflict with the provincial governors, who held veto power over the bodies. Before another set of elections could be held, the 1911 Revolution saw the collapse of the dynasty and the creation of the Republic of China. The first provincial elections under the new government were held in 1912.

Since the Song dynasty (960–1279), positions within the Imperial Chinese bureaucracy and civil governance were filled through the imperial examination system, merging the educational and political systems. This system was carried through to the late Qing dynasty, although it had come under increasing intellectual opposition as corrupt and ineffective during the late 1800s. As it entered the 20th century, the Qing empire was in social and political turmoil. Despite the repression of the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898, the constitutionalist movement continued to advocate for the creation of a constitutional monarchy in lieu of Qing absolutism. The writer Liang Qichao emerged as the movement's most influential leader.

In June 1905, prominent imperial officials Yuan Shikai, Zhang Zhidong, and Zhou Fu jointly submitted a call for the creation of a constitutional monarchy. The de facto head of state Empress Dowager Cixi, previously opposed to the reform movement, had begun to grow sympathetic in the wake of China's humiliation in the Boxer Rebellion and the upset victory of the constitutionalist Empire of Japan during the Russo-Japanese War. Administrative, bureaucratic, and judicial reforms were the first major focus; redundant and archaic offices were abolished, the functions of the Six Boards were transferred to a new set of civil ministries, and the three northeastern Provinces were integrated into the administrative framework of the other provinces.

The Qing government reduced the frequency of the imperial exams and began to promote a western-style education system; when this met resistance by local gentry, the examination system was abolished entirely in 1905. The government initially attended to replace the imperial examinations with a new form of civil service exam; however, little progress was made in the creation of such a system. Instead, elections began to be pursued by the central government as an alternative to examinations.

Proposals for local and provincial assemblies were raised following the end of the Hundred Days' Reform. In the first few years of the 1900s, reformist and revolutionary thinkers such as Sun Yat-sen, Ho Kai, and Kang Youwei began to advocate for the creation of such assemblies, citing both western systems of local governance and the traditional principle of fengjian. As the central government began to embrace the constitutional movement, reformist officials began to advocate for the establishment of local self-governance as a preliminary step towards the creation of a constitutional government.

In 1907, the Grand Council established the Constitutional Commission to begin a twelve-year constitutional reform process, inspired by the Japanese Meiji Restoration and constitution. Under the supervision of Yuan Shikai, the Tianjin County Council held the first western-style elections in Chinese history in August 1907. Following a proposal by Yuan in July, on 19 October the Constitutional Commission received imperial assent to organize provincial assemblies (谘议局; Zīyìjú), in preparation for the establishment of a national assembly (資政院; Zīzhèngyuàn) and proper provincial legislatures. Following this, various provinces (including Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fengtian) created unelected provincial assemblies with appointees from the local gentry.

In July 1908, the central court produced two sets of regulations for the implementation of provincial assemblies and their elections. The "Regulations for Provincial Assembly Elections" was a 115-clause document which established qualifications for candidates and set in place the electoral processes. The provincial assembly elections were indirect elections via an electoral college; voters would vote on a slate of electors, who would in turn elect the provincial assemblymen. In addition to their provincial duties, these assemblymen would elect the members of the National Assembly in a separate election later in the year.