As the capital of the Hubei province, Wuhan is a modern metropolis with unlimited possibilities. Situated in the
heart of China, Wuhan is a commercial centre of finance, industry, trade and science with many international
companies located here. Having scientific, technological and educational institutions such as Wuhan University
of Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Wuhan University, the city is also an
intellectual centre.
>>History
>>Location and Climate
>>Area and Population
History
Wuhan can be tracked to 3500 years ago.Since the Shang and Zhou Dynasty it has been the political, military
and cultural centre for the whole of China. There are several historical moments representing the development
track of Wuhan:
Opening Hankou as a trading port
During the Second Opium War (known in the West as the Arrow War, 1856–1860), the Government of Qing Dynasty
was defeated by the western powers and signed the Treaties of Tianjin and the Convention of Peking, which
stipulated eleven cities or regions (including Hankou) as trading ports. Thus, Hankou became an open trading port.
Hubei under Zhang Zhidong
In the fifteenth year of Guangxu Period (1889) of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zhidong elucidated the theory of "Chinese
learning as the basis, Western learning for application,"and he set up many heavy industries, founded Hanyang Steel
Plant, Daye Iron Mine, Pingxiang Coal Mine and Hubei Arsenal and set up local textile industries, boosting the
flourishing modern industry in Wuhan. Meanwhile, he initiated educational reform, opened dozens of modern
educational organizations successively, such as Lianghu (Hunan and Hubei) Academy of Classical Learning, Civil
General Institute, Military General Institute, Foreign Languages Institute and Lianghu (Hunan and Hubei) General Normal
School, and selected a great many students for study overseas, which well promoted the development of China’s modern
education. Furthermore, he trained modern military and organized a modern army including a zhen and a xie (both zhen
and xie are military units in the Qing Dynasty) in Hubei. All of these laid a solid foundation for the modernization of Wuhan.
Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising began with the dissatisfaction of the handling of a railway crisis. The crisis then escalated to an
uprising where the revolutionaries went up against Qing government officials. The uprising was then assisted by the New
Army in a coup against their own authorities in the city of Wuchang, Hubei provinceon October 10, 1911. The Battle of
Yangxia led by Huang Xing would be the major battle in the uprising. These events served as a catalyst to the Xinhai
Revolution, which led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.
Battle of Wuhan
The Battle of Wuhan, popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of
Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War. More than one million National Revolutionary Army
troops were gathered, with Chiang Kai shek himself in command, to defend Wuhan from the Imperial Japanese Army led
by Yasuji Okamura. At the end of the battle, Japan had only one division left in the home island and was unable to reinforce
the 7 divisions in Northeast China and Korea to counter the pressure of the 20 Soviet Far East divisions on the border.
Completion and opening-to-traffic of the First Yangtze River Bridge
The project of building the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, also known as the First Yangtze River Bridge, was regarded as
one of the key projects during the period of the first five-year plan.The whole bridge was 1,670 m (5,479.00 ft) long, 22.5 m
(73.82 ft) wide and the substratum was a double-line railway with a width of 18 m (59.06 ft). Thanks to the First Yangtze
River Bridge, Beijing-Wuhan and Guangdong-Wuhan railways were available and any place could be reached from
Wuchang, Hankou to Hanyang. Thus Wuhan was a thoroughfare to nine provinces not only in reality but in name as well.
Location and Climate
Wuhan is situated in the middle of Hubei province, 113°41′-115°05′East,
29°58′-31°22 North, east of the Jianghan Plain, and the confluence of the
middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Hanshui River.The metropolitan
area comprises three parts --Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, commonly
called the "Three Towns of Wuhan". The consolidation of these three cities
occurred in 1927 and Wuhan was thereby established. These three parts
face each other across the rivers and are linked by bridges, including one
of the first modern bridges in China, known as the "First Bridge". It is simple
in geographical structure-low and flat in the middle and hilly in the south,
with the Yangtze and Han rivers winding through the city. Wuhan occupies a land area of 8494.41 km2, most of which is plain
and decorated with hills and a great number of lakes and pools. Wuhan's climate is humid subtropical with abundant rainfall
and four distinctive seasons. Wuhan is known for its oppressively humid summers, when dewpoints can often reach 26 C or
more. Because of its hot summer weather, Wuhan is commonly known as one of the Three Furnaces of China, along with Nanjing and Chongqing. Spring and autumn are generally mild, while winter is cool with occasional snow.
Details in the fellowing form:
Area and Population
Districts
Wuhan has totally 13 districts under its administration. Urban area including 7 districts: Jiang’an District, Jianghan District,
Qiaokou District, Hanyang District, Wuchang District, Qingshan District and Hongshan District, Suburban area including 6
districts: Caidian District, Jiangxia District, Huangpo District, Xinzhou District, Dongxihu District and Hannan District State-level
development zones: Wuhan Economic & Technology Development Zone, Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone
and Wujiashan Taiwan Businessman Investment Zone
Population
The following data is valid at the end of 2010 and is based on some official news release and the statistics by Wuhan Municipal
Bureau of Statistics.
Current Population of Wuhan 8.97 Million
Permanent Residents 8.33 Million
Non-permanent Residents 0.64 Million
