Location
Wuhan is situated in the middle of Hubei
Province of China, the east of Jianghan Plain, and the
intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River
and Hanshui River. The Yangtze River and Hanshui River
divide Wuhan into three parts: Hankou, Hanyang and
Wuchang, which were generally known as Wuhan's Three
Towns. Wuhan occupies a land of 8467.11km2, most of which
is plain and supplemented by hills with a great number of
lakes and pools. Wuhan's climate belongs to subtropical
zone monsoon climate with abundant rainfall and clear four
seasons. It has a population of 7,565,000 by the end of
2001.
Wuhan has strong advantage of economy and location. It
connects the east and west, channels the north and south,
and links rivers and seas with its developed water, land
and air traffic. From Wuhan you may reach some foreign
countries such as Japan and ROK. Some of China's
metropolises such as Beijing, Shanghai, |
| Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Xi'an are all within a circle
with a center - Wuhan and radius - 1000km. Wuhan is the
important strategic supporting point of Central China. |
History
Wuhan is China famous historical and cultural city with a
history of 3500 years. Its three towns take advantage of the
intersection of the Yangtze River and Hanshui River, and Hankou
was growing up swiftly. In 1861, Hankou was opened to trade with
foreign powers. In 1927, National Government announced that
Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang were integrated to Jingzhao Region
and named Wuhan, whose administrative system was first unified.
Wuhan was liberated on May 16, 1949, and was the city governed
directly by Central Government by June 1954, afterwards,
governed by Hubei Provincial Government. In Dec. 1986, the State
Council promulgated that Wuhan was China famous historical and
cultural city. In 1992, Wuhan was approved to be city open to
the outside world.
Government
Wuhan Municipal Government governs 13 governments at the level
of district and 26 directly subordinated departments, and
manages the city according to national economy and social
development. The diligent government and high-effective service
are the work rule of the governments at levels.
Industry
| Wuhan is China's traditional base of
manufacture industry, is also one of the origins of
China's modern industry. Wuhan is one of the biggest
automobile industry bases in China; In China, there are
nine cars of each hundred cars produced from Wuhan
Citroen-Dongfeng. Wuhan is also one of the biggest iron
and steel industry bases in China; Wuhan Iron and Steel
Group is the third iron and steel consortium in China with
an annual productive capacity of 10,000,000 tons of iron
and 10,000,000 tons of steel. In recent years, Wuhan
focuses on the development of hi-tech industries and has
become the biggest photo-electronic information industry
base in China; Wuhan's China Optics Valley has become one
of the places gathering China's hi-tech industries. |
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Economy and Trade
| Wuhan is one of the cities with the most
competitive force for domestic trade in China. Wuhan,
close inferior to Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in its
volume of retail, is in the front rank of China's
metropolises. Wuhan Department Store, Zhongshang Company,
Hanyang Department Store, and Central Department Store
enjoy highest reputation and are Wuhan's four major
commercial enterprises and listed companies. Hanzhengjie
Small Commodities Market has been prosperous for hundreds
of years and enjoys a worldwide reputation. In recent
years, some world famous commercial giants such as
Walmart, Metro, |
 |
| and Carrefour all set up branches in Wuhan,
and bring about more prosperity and stronger force of
radiation. By the end of 2001, already 3900
foreign-capital enterprises invested in Wuhan and/or
incorporated here; among the world's top 500 enterprises,
there are 40 enterprises having invested in Wuhan. A
statistical report of 2001 by UN shows that Wuhan is
ranked the sixth among the 25 cities with best development
prospect in China. |
Science and Education
| Wuhan is the scientific and educational
center in Central China, having 35 higher educational
institutions such as Wuhan University and Huazhong
University of Science and Technology, which cover all the
fields of science and technology and employ elites and
explorers in these fields. Wuhan has formed a
comprehensive scientific and educational strength ranked
the third in China with its main force: three national
development zones and four scientific and technologic
development parks as well as numerous enterprise
incubators, over 350 researching institutes, 1470 hi-tech
enterprises, and over 400,000 experts and technicians. |
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Transportation
Wuhan is one of traffic hubs in China. Its capacity of
communications at home and to foreign countries is in the front
rank of metropolises in China. Its arterial highways extend in
all directions. Its downtown has formed the external cycle,
middle cycle and internal cycle of fast lanes. Four arterial
railways such as Jing-Guang, Jing-Jiu, Wu-Da and Han-Dan
intersect in Wuhan, from which you may reach 25 provincial
capitals in China by railway. Wuhan civil airliners can fly to
China's 54 large and middle cities and Hong Kong; the
international air-liners may straight reach Japan and ROK, etc.
Main Scenic Spots
| Yellow Crane Tower, one of Four Major Towers in
China, is situated on Snake Hill of Wuchang Distict. It
was said that Yellow Crane Tower was built originally in
223 AD with a history of over 1700 years. Previously it
was destroyed and rebuilt in frequent disasters. The new
Yellow Crane Tower was completed in June 1985, and listed
by National Tourism Administration into National Best
Forty Scenic Spots for Tourists. |
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 |
Guiyuan Temple, one of national key Buddhism
temples, is situated in Cuiweiheng Road, west of Tortoise
Hill of Hanyang District. It was built in 1658 and named
upon the Buddhist hymn: "Return to original purity
without other resort, there would be many ways if it is at
discretion." |
| East Lake Scenic Zone, one of national key scenic
spots, is located by vast East Lake of Wuchang District.
With the water area of 33km2, its total area reaches
80km2, including the land scenic zone round the Lake. It
has been built since 1950 and nowadays has owned three
characterized tourism zones: Tingtao Zone, Moshan Zone and
Luohong Zone. |
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Hubei Museum, located by beautiful
East Lake of Wuchang District, is one of the most famous
museums in China and one of national key scenic spots. It
has collected numerous cultural relics at national
treasure level, of which the most famous is Zenghouyi
Serial Bells of two thousand years ago, which was well
preserved and unearthed in Leigudeng, Suixian County of
Hubei. It is composed of dozens of serial bells of
different sizes. Although it experienced thousands of
years, its tone quality and tone color are still
wonderful. The unearthed King Yue's Goujian Sword and King
Wu's Fucai's Spear of two thousand years ago are still
beautiful and sharp |
| without any rust. The unearthed painted
wares, used by ancient Chu people, are still colorful,
whose wonderful shapes were hailed as the acme of
perfection. Hubei Museum has collected Hubei ancestors'
articles for everyday use and articles for war from Old
Stone Age, New Stone Age to the Yuan, Ming and Qing
Dynasties. The worldwide experts and tourists all marvel
at these articles for the elaborate craft, wonderful
shapes and ingenious design. |
| Site of the Former Revolutionary Military Government
(Red-bricked Building), located in Yuemachang of
Wuchang District, is China famous scenic spot. The
Revolution of Oct. 10, 1911 in Wuchang overthrew the rule
of feudalism of two thousand years in China; Red-bricked
Building reflects this true history. In front of
Red-bricked Building stands the statue of Sun Zhongshan,
great revolutionary pioneer, and the statues of three
martyrs surnamed Peng, Liu and Yang, who gave their lives
for the Revolution of 1911, as well as the Mustering
Platform, set for resisting the army of the Qing Dynasty.
The Revolution of 1911 in Wuchang remains resplendent
forever. |
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