Wuhan
Wuhan (Simplified Chinese: 武汉; Traditional Chinese: 武漢; Pinyin: Wǔhàn) is the capital of Hubei province, and is the largest and most populated city in central China. It lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han River. It has a population of approximately 8,310,000 people. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Chinese Nationalist government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek.
Geography
The metropolitan area consists of 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). 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.History
The area was first settled more than 3,000 years ago. During the Han Dynasty, Hanyang became a fairly busy port. In the 3rd century AD, walls were built to protect Hanyang (AD 206) and Wuchang (AD 223). The latter event marks the foundation of Wuhan. In AD 223, the Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼) was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River. Cui Hao, a celebrated poet of Tang Dynasty, visited the building in the early 8th Century; his poem made the building the most celebrated building in southern China. The city has long been renowned as a center for the arts (especially poetry) and for intellectual studies. Under the Mongol ruler (Yuan Dynasty), Wuchang was promoted to the status of provincial capital. By approximately 300 years ago, Hankou had become one of the country's top four trading towns. In the late 1800s railroads were extended on a north-south axis through this city, which then became an important transhipment point between rail and river traffic. At this time foreign powers extracted mercantile concessions, with the riverfront of Hankou being divided up into various foreign controlled merchant districts. These districts contained trading firm offices, warehouses, and docking facilities.In 1911, Sun Yat-sen's followers launched the Wuchang Uprising that led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek during the 1920s.
The city has been subject to numerous devastating floods, which are supposed to be controlled by the ambitious Three Gorges Dam, recently completed and plagued by environmental, reliability and social issues.
Major bridges
First bridge
The First Chang River Bridge at Wuhan was built over the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) in 1957, carrying the railroad directly across the river between Snake Hill (on the left in the picture below) and Turtle Hill. Before this bridge was built it could take up to an entire day to barge railcars across. Including its approaches, it is 5,511 feet (1680 m) long, and it accommodates both a double-track railway on a lower deck and a four lane roadway above.The second bridge
The second bridge, a cable-stayed bridge, built of pre-stressed concrete, has a central span of 400 meters The Wuhan Second Changjiang River Bridge is 4,678 meters in length (including 1,877 meters of the main bridge) and 26.5 to 33.5 meters in width. Its main bridgeheads are 90 meters high each, pulling 392 thick slanting cables together in the shape of double fans, so that the central span of the bridge is well poised on the piers and the bridge's stability and vibration resistance are ensured. With six lanes on the deck, the bridge is designed to handle 50,009, motor vehicles passing every day.The third bridge
The Third Wuhan Chang River Bridge was completed in september 2000. Construction on the Wuhan Baishazhou Bridge, which is located 8.6 kilometers north of the first Yangtze Bridge in Wuhan, started in 1997. With an investment of over 1.4 billion yuan (about 170 million U.S. dollars), the bridge, which is 3,586 meters long and 26.5 meters wide, has six lanes and has a capacity of 50,000 vehicles a day. The bridge is expected to serve as a major traffic hub for the future Wuhan Ring Road, greatly easing the city's traffic and aiding local economic development.Tourist sites
- The Hubei Provincial Museum includes many artifacts excavated from ancient tombs, including a magnificent and unique concert bell set. A dance and orchestral show is given here, using reproductions of the original instruments.
- The Rock and Bonsai Museum includes a magnificent mounted Platybelodon skeleton, many unique and finely figured rocks, a giant quartz crystal (as large as an automobile) and an outdoor garden with miniature trees in the Penjing ("Chinese Bonsai ") style.
- Some luxury Riverboat tours begin here after a flight from Beijing or Shanghai, with several days of flatland cruising and then climbing through the Three Gorges with passage upstream past the Gezhouba and Three Gorges dams to the city of Chongqing. With the completion of the dam a number of cruises now start from the upstream side and continue east, with tourists traveling by motor coach from Wuhan. Although there is no longer the excitement of fast water cruising through the three gorges, and some of the historic wall carvings are now underwater, much of the drama of the high cliffs and narrow passages remains.
- The Yellow Crane Tower (aka. Huanghelou), modern in structure, ancient in lore and legend. This tower has been destroyed and reconstructed numerous times, was burned last in 1884. Reconstruction took place in 1981. The reconstruction utilized modern materials and even includes an elevator, yet in outward appearance and detail is true in spirit to the traditional design of the tower through the centuries.
- Jiqing Street(吉庆街), a street full of road side restaurants and street performers during the evening, well-known by Chinese due to a novel Live Show (生活秀) with stories of events on this street by Chi Li. It's a great place to know how locals live, eat, and to enjoy some local performance. Each song costs around 10 RMB, and you can order 3 songs with 20 RMB, provided you know those song names in Chinese. Performances include Pop music, folk songs, rock'n'roll, Stand-up comedy, and so on, mostly in Chinese or local dialect.
Economy
Wuhan is a Sub-provincial city. The GDP per capita was approximately RMB23,500 (US$12,200 on Purchasing power parity basis) in 2004.Colleges and Universities
[National]| No. | School | Website |
|---|---|---|
| A01 | Wuhan University a combination of: 合并自: (the former) Wuhan University (founded 1893) (原) (the former) Wuhan University of Hydraulic and Electrical Engineering (原) (the former) Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping (原) (the former) Hubei Medical University (原) | http://www.whu.edu.cn/ |
| A02 | Huazhong University of Science and Technology a combination of: 合并自: (the former) Huazhong University of Science and Technology (原) (the former) Tongji Medical University (原) (the former) Wuhan Urban Construction Institute (原) (the former) Wuhan Science and Technology Vocational College (原) | http://www.hust.edu.cn/ |
| A03 | China University of Geosciences | http://www.cug.edu.cn/ |
| A04 | Wuhan University of Technology a combination of: 合并自: (the former) Wuhan University of Technology (原) (the former) Wuhan Automotive Polytechnic University (原) (the former) Wuhan Transportation University (原) | http://www.whut.edu.cn/ |
| A05 | Huazhong Agricultural University (founded 1898) | http://www.hzau.edu.cn/ |
| A06 | Huazhong Normal University | http://www.ccnu.edu.cn/ |
| A07 | Zhongnan University of Economics and Law a combination of: 合并自: (the former) Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics (原) (the former) Zhongnan Institute of Polotics and Law (原) | http://www.znufe.edu.cn/ |
| A08 | South-Central University for Nationalities | http://www.scuec.edu.cn/ |
[Public]
| No. | School | Website |
|---|---|---|
| B01 | Hubei University | http://www.hubu.edu.cn/ |
| B02 | Wuhan University of Science and Technology | http://www.wust.edu.cn/ |
| B03 | Jianghan University | http://www.jhun.edu.cn/ |
| B04 | Hubei University of Technology | http://www.hbut.edu.cn/ |
| B05 | Wuhan Institute of Technology | http://www.wit.edu.cn/ |
| B06 | Wuhan University of Science and Engineering | http://www.wist.edu.cn/ |
| B07 | Wuhan Polytechnic University | http://www.whpu.edu.cn/ |
| B08 | Hubei College of Traditional Chinese Medicine | http://www.hbtcm.edu.cn/ |
| B09 | Wuhan Institute of Physical Education | http://www.wipe.edu.cn/ |
| B10 | Hubei Institute of Fine Arts | http://www.hifa.edu.cn/ |
| B11 | Hubei Police College | http://www.hbpa.edu.cn |
| B12 | Wuhan Conservatory of Music | http://www.whcm.com.cn/ |
| B13 | Hubei University of Economics | http://www.hbue.edu.cn/ |
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
Popular foods
- Re Gan Mian is a kind of noodle which is very popular in this city.
- Ya Bo Zi (鸭脖子) is a local version of this popular Chinese dish, made of duck necks and spices.
Famous people
- Dong Bi Wu is the first Mayor of Wuhan after the founding of People's Republic of China.
- Modern Writer Chi Li is from Wuhan.
- Tennis Players Li Na and Li Ting are from Wuhan and reside in Hankou.
- Famous Diving Players Fu Mingxia is from Wuhan and resided in Hankou.
- Famous table tennis player Qiao Hong is from Wuhan.
Astronomical phenomena
- The next total Solar eclipse fully visible at Wuhan will be the Solar eclipse of 2009-Jul-22 to occur on July 22, 2009
- The last total solar eclipse fully visible at Wuhan was on September 21, 1941