Administrative Divisions
——Suzhou is called Su in short. It includes five county-level cities: Changshu city, Zhangjiagang
city, Kunshan city, Wujiang city and Taicang city, and eight districts: Canglang District, Pingjiang
District, Jinchang District,Wuzhong District,Xiangcheng District, Suzhou National New &
Hi-Tech Industrial Development zone, Huqiu District and Industrial Park. There are 61 totally
towns, 32 sub-districts and 1156 villages in Suzhou.
Location
——Suzhou lies in the center of Yangtze River Delta, between 30°47′—32°02′E and 119°55′
—121°20′N. It borders on Shanghai on the east, Jiaxing and Huzhou of Zhejiang on the south,
Taihu Lake and Wuxi on the west and Yangtze on the north.
——Suzhou enjoys strategic geographical location. Hu-Ning Railway and Hu-Ning Expressway
runs from east to west; Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal connects south and north. Suzhou abounds
in waterways and highways. Yangtse Rive that lies on the north of the city is a key waterway
artery. Suzhou Port, on the south bank of the lower reaches of Yangtze is state first-class port.
Typography
——Suzhou, at the bottom of a shallow saucer-shaped plain with Lake Tai at its center, is low and
even. Average altitude is 3.5m-5m above sea level. The southeast part is relatively lower, with the
lowest point 2m below sea level. The southwest is a hilly area, with the highest point, the peak of
Qionglong Hill, 351.7m above sea level.
Area
——The total area of Suzhou is 8488.42 sq km, 2.7% of it, i. e. 225 sq km is hilly area; 42.5% of
it, i. e. 3609 sq km, is water area. The land under cultivation occupies 239650 hectare. Built-up
Urban Area covers 214.5sq.km.
Rivers & Lakes
——Suzhou is a famous water country region to the south of Yangtze River. It has over 20 000
rivers and over 300 lakes of various size. Famous among them are Taihu Lake, Yangcheng Lake,
Cheng Lake, Dianshan Lake, Yangtze River & Beijing-Hongzhou Canal, etc.
Climate
——Suzhou's climate belongs to monsoon of subtropical moist marine climate zone, with distinct
four seasons, Suzhou has a mild climate with plenty rainfall. Average temperature of the year is
around 17℃ and annual precipitation is around 1000 millimeter.

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