Wuhan
Wuhan[a] is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China.[15] With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the ninth-most-populous city in China.[16] It is also one of the nine national central cities.[17]
Wuhan
武汉市
1500 BC
January 1, 1927[7]
223 BC
- 13 districts
- 156 subdistricts, 1 towns, 3 townships
Hu Lishan
8,494.41 km2 (3,279.71 sq mi)
1,528 km2 (590 sq mi)
12,326,500[6]
Wuhanese
0027
2021
- CNY 143,729
- US$22,284 (nominal) (11th)
12.2% (2021)
- 鄂A
- 鄂O (police and authorities)
武汉政府门户网站 (Wuhan Government Web Portal) (in Chinese); English Wuhan (in English)
"[The combined cities of] Wu[chang] and Han[kou]"
Wǔhàn
Wǔhàn
ㄨˇ ㄏㄢˋ
Wuuhann
Wu3-han4
Wǔhàn
Vû-hǒe
Móuh-hon
mou5 hon3
Bú-hàn
Wuhan historically served as a busy city port for commerce and trading with some crucial influences on Chinese history. The name "Wuhan" came from the city's historical origin from the conglomeration of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, which are collectively known as the "Three Towns of Wuhan" (武汉三镇). Wuhan lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain, at the confluence of the Yangtze river and its largest tributary, the Han River, and is known as "Nine Provinces' Thoroughfare" (九省通衢).[1] Wuhan was the site of the 1911 Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty which ended 2,000 years of dynastic rule. Wuhan was briefly a capital of China twice, in 1927 under a left wing Kuomintang (KMT) government,[18] and in 1937 as a provisional wartime capital during WWII.[19][20] On December 31, 2019, SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus that later caused the COVID-19 pandemic, was first discovered in Wuhan[21][22] and the city was the location of the first lockdown of the pandemic in January 2020.[23]
Wuhan is considered the political, economic, financial, commercial, cultural, and educational center of Central China.[16] It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads, and expressways passing through the city and connecting to other major cities.[24] Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan is sometimes referred to as "the Chicago of China" by foreign sources.[3][4][5] The "Golden Waterway" of the Yangtze River and the Han River traverse the urban area and divide Wuhan into the three districts of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang. The Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge crosses the Yangtze in the city. The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity, is located nearby. Historically, Wuhan has suffered risks of flooding,[25] prompting the government to alleviate the situation by introducing ecologically friendly absorption mechanisms.[26]
While Wuhan has been a traditional manufacturing hub for decades, it is also one of the areas promoting modern industrial changes in China. Wuhan has three national development zones, four scientific and technological development parks, over 350 research institutes, 1,656 high tech enterprises, numerous enterprise incubators and investments from 230 Fortune Global 500 firms.[27] It produced GDP (nominal) of US$274 billion in 2021. The Dongfeng Motor Corporation, an automobile manufacturer, is headquartered in Wuhan. The city is home to multiple notable institutes of higher education, including Wuhan University[28] and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Wuhan is a major city in the world by scientific research outputs and it ranks 10th globally, 6th in the Asia-Pacific and 5th in China (after Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou).[29] In 2017, Wuhan was designated as a Creative City by UNESCO, in the field of design.[30] Wuhan is classified as a Beta- (global second tier) city together with seven other cities in China, including Changsha, Dalian, Jinan, Shenyang, Xiamen, Xi'an and Zhengzhou by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.[31] Wuhan is also one of the world's top 100 financial centers, according to the Global Financial Centres Index.[32]
Etymology[edit]
The name "Wuhan" comes from the two major cities on the banks of the Yangtze River that make up the Wuhan metropolis: "Wu" refers to the city of Wuchang (Chinese: 武昌), which lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze, while "Han" refers to the city of Hankou (Chinese: 汉口), which lies on the northern bank of the Yangtze. "Hankou" means "Mouth of the Han", from its position at the confluence of the Han with the Yangtze River.
In 1926, the Northern Expedition reached the Wuhan area and it was decided to merge Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang into one city in order to make a new capital for Nationalist China. On January 1, 1927,[33] the resulting city was proclaimed as '武漢' (the traditional Chinese characters for 'Wuhan'), which was later simplified as '武汉' (also 'Wuhan').[34][35][36]
Baotong Buddhist Temple
Gude Buddhist Temple
St. Alexander Nevsky Church
Holy Family Catholic Church
Transportation[edit]
Railways[edit]
China Railway Wuhan Group manages the Wuhan Railway Hub. Wuhan Railway Hub is considered one of the four key railway hubs of China.[165] The city of Wuhan is served by three major railway stations: the Hankou railway station in Hankou, the Wuchang railway station in Wuchang, and the Wuhan railway station, located in a newly developed area east of the East Lake (Hongshan District). As the stations are many miles apart, it is important for passengers to be aware of the particular station(s) used by a particular train.
The (original) Hankou Station was the terminus for the Jinghan railway from Beijing, while the Wuchang Station was the terminus for the Yuehan railway to Guangzhou. Since the construction of the First Yangtze Bridge and the linking of the two lines into the Jingguang railway, both Hankou and Wuchang stations have been served by trains going to all directions, which contrasts with the situation in such cities as New York or Moscow, where different stations serve different directions.
With the opening of the Hefei-Wuhan high-speed railway on April 1, 2009,[166] Wuhan became served by high-speed trains with Hefei, Nanjing, and Shanghai; several trains a day now connect the city with Shanghai, getting there in under six hours. As of early 2010, most of these express trains leave from the Hankou railway station.
In 2006, construction began on the new Wuhan railway station with 11 platforms, located on the northeastern outskirts of the city. In December 2009, the station was opened, as China unveiled its second high-speed train with scheduled runs from Guangzhou to Wuhan. Billed as the fastest train in the world, it can reach a speed of 394 km/h (244.82 mph). The travel time between the two cities has been reduced from ten and a half hours to just three. The rail service has been extended north to Beijing.[167]
As of 2011, the new Wuhan railway station is primarily used by the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed trains, while most regular trains to other destinations continue to use the Hankou and Wuchang stations.
Construction work is carried out on several lines of the new Wuhan Metropolitan Area intercity railway, which will eventually connect Wuhan's three main rail terminals with several stations throughout the city's outer areas and farther suburbs, as well as with the nearby cities of Xianning, Huangshi, Huanggang, and Xiaogan. The first line of the system, the one to Xianning, opened for passenger operations at the end of 2013. The line to Xiaogen opened on December 1, 2016, and it was extended with the opening of the Wuhan–Shiyan high-speed railway to Shiyan on November 29, 2019.[168][169]
The main freight railway station and classification yard of the Wuhan metropolitan area is the extensive Wuhan North railway station, with 112 tracks and over 650 switches. It is located in Hengdian Subdistrict of Huangpi District, located 20 km (12 mi) north of the Wuhan Station and 23 km (14 mi) from Hankou Station.
[185]
The institute has been an active premier research center for the study of coronaviruses.[193]
Nature and wildlife[edit]
In Chinese mythology, the Baiji ("Yangtze River dolphin") has many origin stories. In one legend, the Baiji was the daughter of a general who was deported from the city of Wuhan during a war. During his duty, the daughter ran away. Later, the general met a woman who told him how her father was a general, and when he realized that she was his daughter, he threw himself into the river out of shame. The daughter ran after him and also fell into the river. Before they were drowned, the daughter was transformed into a dolphin, and the general a porpoise.[246]