Welcome to Wuhan

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, and is the most popular city in central People's Republic of China. It lies at the east of Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han River, where call China Corner. Arising out of the conglomeration of three boroughs, Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, Wuhan is known as the "thoroughfare of nine provinces"; it is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city. The city of Wuhan, first termed as such in 1927, has a population of approximately 9,100,000 people (2006), with about 6,100,000 residents in its urban area. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek, now Wuhan is recognized as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational and transportation center of central China.

Geography and climate

Wuhan is situated in the middle of Hubei Province of China, East Longitude 113°41′-115°05′, North Latitude 29°58′-31°22′.the east of 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" (hence the name "Wuhan", combining "Wu" from the first city and "Han" from the other two). 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 a subtropical monsoon one with abundant rainfall and distinctive four seasons. Wuhan is known for its oppressively humid summers, when dewpoints can often reach 26 °Cor more. Because of its hot summer weather, Wuhan is known as one of the Three Furnaces of China, along with Nanjing and Chongqing. Wuhan is by far the hottest of the Three Furnaces; the average temperature in July is 37.2°C (99°F), and the maximum often exceeds 40°C (104°F). Spring and autumn are generally mild, while winter is cool with occasional snow. In recent thirty years, the average annual rainfall is 1269 mm, mainly from June to August; annual temperature is 15.8°C-17.5°C, annual frost free period lasts 211 to 272 days and annual sunlight duration is 1810 to 2100 hours.