3 行政区划 自然概况
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
行政区划 自然概况
行政区划
常州市下辖溧阳、金坛两市及武进、新北、天宁、钟楼、戚墅堰五区。溧阳、金坛二市下辖17个镇、83个居民委员会(社区居委会)和332个村民委员会；武进、新北、天宁、钟楼、戚墅堰区下辖21个街道办事处、 20个镇，276个居民委员会(社区居委会)和 450个村民委员会。
位 置
常州地处江苏省南部，沪宁线中段，属长江三角洲沿海经济开放区。位于北纬31°09ˊ至32°04ˊ，东经119°08ˊ至120°12ˊ之间，北倚长江天堑，南与安徽省交界，东濒太湖与无锡市相连，西与南京、镇江两市接壤。
常州水陆空交通便利。沪宁铁路、沪宁与宁杭高速公路、312国道、京杭大运河穿境而过。全市水网纵横交织，连江通海。长江常州港为一类口岸，常州民航站已开通至北京、广州、大连、厦门、深圳、海口、西安等国内近20个大中城市的航线。
地 势
常州地貌类型属高沙平原，山丘平圩兼有。南为天目山余脉，西为茅山山脉，北为宁镇山脉尾部，中部和东部为宽广的平原、圩区。境内地势西南略高，东北略低，高低相差1.5～2米左右。
面 积
常州市总面积4372平方公里，市区面积为1862平方公里。
河 流
常州境内河道纵横交织，湖塘星罗棋布。著名的有泊洮湖(长荡湖)、滆湖、太湖三大天然湖泊，并有沙河(天目湖)、大溪两大人工水库，贯通全境的京杭大运河更是支流密布，脉脉相连，形成江河相通，三湖相连的水系网络。
Administrative Division and Natural Resources
Administrative Division
Changzhou has jurisdiction over two county-level cities and five districts. There are 17 towns, 83 neighborhood committees (community committees), and 332 villagers' committees under the jurisdiction of Jintan city and Liyang city; and Wujin district, Xinbei district, Tianning district, Zhonglou district, Qishuyan district totally administer 21 subdistrict offices, 20 towns, 276 neighborhood committees (community committees) and 450 villagers' committees.
Location
Changzhou, located in the southeast of Jiangsu province and the central section of Shanghai-Nanjing railway, belongs to the coastal economic open zone. Between north latitude 31°09' to 32°04' and east longitude 119°08' to 120°12', bordering the great Yangtze River in the north, Anhui province in the south and facing Taihu Lake and Wuxi city in the east and neighboring Nanjing city, Zhenjiang city in the west.
Changzhou is easily accessed by water, land and air since it is traversed by railways and expressways, including Shanghai-Nanjing Railway, Shanghai-Nanjing expressway, Nanjing-Hangzhou Expressway, Yangtze Riverside Expressway, Wuxi-Yixing Expressway,Yangzhou-Liyang Expressway, National Highway 312 and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal； Besides, it owns the crisscross network of waters, connecting Yangtze River and leading to the sea. Changzhou Port of the Yangtze River is listed as the state category-1 port; and Changzhou civil airport has scheduled flights to nearly 20 large and medium size domestic cities, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Dalian, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Haikou and Xi’an, etc.
Topography
The relief type of Changzhou is combined with plain and hills and polders. It has Tianmu Mountain ranges in the south, Maoshan Mountain ranges in the west, Tailing edge of Ningzhen Mountain in the north, vast plain and polder in the central section and east. The terrain is relatively higher in southwest and relatively lower in the northeast with a difference of 1.5～2 meters.
Area
The total area of Changzhou is 4372sq.km,The urban area covers1862sq.km.
Rivers
The rivers cross the city in a crisscross pattern, and lakes spread all over the city like the stars in the sky and scattered like the pieces on a chessboard.There are three famous natural lakes, such as Taohu Lake (Changdang Lake), Gehu Lake, Taihu Lake and two artificial reservoirs, namely, Shahe (Tianmu), Daxi reservoirs. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal goes through the city properly with many branches interlinked with rivers, which forms the water system network of canal, rivers interlinked and three lakes connected.