You can use .replaceWith()
$(function() {_x000D_
_x000D_
$(".region").click(function(e) {_x000D_
e.preventDefault();_x000D_
var content = $(this).html();_x000D_
$('#map').replaceWith('<div class="region">' + content + '</div>');_x000D_
});_x000D_
_x000D_
});
_x000D_
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script>_x000D_
_x000D_
<div id="map">_x000D_
<div class="region"><a href="link1">region1</a></div>_x000D_
<div class="region"><a href="link2">region2</a></div>_x000D_
<div class="region"><a href="link3">region3</a></div>_x000D_
</div>
_x000D_