Wuhan

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers. Arising out of the conglomeration of three cities, Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, Wuhan is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city and connecting to other major cities. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan was sometimes referred to as "the Chicago of China" by foreign sources.

Holding sub-provincial status, Wuhan is recognized as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational and transportation center of central China. The city of Wuhan, first termed as such in 1927, has a population of 10,607,700 people as of 2015. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the national capital of a leftist Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek, as well as wartime capital in 1937. At the 2010 census, its built-up (or metro) area made of 8 out of 10 urban districts (all but Xinzhou and Hannan not yet conurbated) was home to 8,821,658 inhabitants.

Climate
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 (79 °F) or more. Because of its hot summer weather, Wuhan is commonly known as one of the Four Furnaces of China, along with Nanjing, Nanchang and Chongqing. Spring and autumn are generally mild, while winter is cool with occasional snow. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 4.0 °C (39.2 °F) in January to 29.1 °C (84.4 °F) in July. Annual precipitation totals 1,315 millimetres (51.8 in), mainly from May to July; the annual mean temperature is 17.13 °C (62.8 °F), the frost-free period lasts 211 to 272 days. With monthly possible sunshine percentage ranging from 31 percent in March to 59 percent in August, the city proper receives 1,865 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −18.1 °C (−1 °F) on 31 January 1977 to 39.7 °C (103 °F) on 27 July 2017 (unofficial record of 41.3 °C (106 °F) was set on 10 August 1934).

Transport
Presently, 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 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, 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 6 hours. As of the 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.

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.

When Wuhan Metro opened in September 2010, Wuhan became the fifth Chinese city with a metro system (after Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangzhou). The first 10.2 kilometres (6.3 mi)-long line (10 stations) is an elevated rail (and therefore called 'light rail' in Chinese terminology). It runs from Huangpu to Zongguan in the downtown area of the Hankou District, and it is the first one in the country to use a communication-based train control system (a Moving Block signalling system, provided by Alcatel). The designed minimum interval is only 90 seconds between two trains and it features driverless operation. Phase 2 of this line will extend the length to 28.8 km (17.90 mi) with 26 stations in total. It plans to start revenue service on July 28, 2010.

Metro Line 2 opened on December 28, 2012, extending total system length to 56.85 km (35.32 mi). This is the first Metro line crossing the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang).

Line 4 opened on December 28, 2013, connecting Wuhan Railway Station and Wuchang Railway Station. Since that date, all three main railway stations of the city are connected by the metro lines. In December 2016, the extension of Metro's Line 2 was extended to Wuhan Tianhe Airport was opened as well.

Trams are brought to the streets of Wuhan since July 28, 2017 with the first line (Auto-city T1 Line) opened that day. The trams under construction or planning in Wuhan are:
    •    Auto-city trams, with Lines T1, T2, T6, and T8 in the Wuhan Economic Development Area, in the far western reaches on Hanyang. T1 Line is operational as of 2017
    •    Optics Valley trams, two lines (T1 and T2) south and east of Guanggu Circle (Guanggu Guangchang) in southeastern Wuchang
    •    The Old Hankou Streetcar, a loop line around Hankou city.

Opened in April 1995, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is one of the busiest airports in central China and it is located 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of Wuhan. It has also been selected as China's fourth international hub airport after Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai-Pudong and Guangzhou Baiyun. A second terminal was completed in March 2008, having been started in February 2005 with an investment of CNY 3.372 billion. International flights to neighboring Asian countries have also been enhanced, including direct flights to Tokyo and Nagoya, Japan. Terminal 3 has been available for service since early 2017.

Economy
Wuhan is a sub-provincial city. In 2012, the city's GDP exceeded 800 billion CNY, growing at an annual rate of 11.4 percent. GDP is split almost evenly between the city's industrial and service sectors. GDP per capita was approximately 64,000 CNY as of 2009. In 2013, the city's annual average disposable income was 23,738.09 CNY, which is expected to increase by 14 percent over the next year.

Wuhan is an important center for economy, trade, finance, transportation, information technology, and education in China. Its major industries include optic-electronic, automobile manufacturing, iron and steel manufacturing, new pharmaceutical sector, biology engineering, new materials industry and environmental protection. Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Co. and Dongfeng-Citroen Automobile Co., Ltd headquartered in the city. Environmental sustainability is highlighted in Wuhan's list of emerging industries, which include energy efficiency technology and renewable energy.

Wuhan is one of the most competitive forces for domestic trade in China, rivaling the first tier cities of Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou in its volume of retail. It is also among the top list of China's metropolises. Wuhan Department Store, Zhongshang Company, Hanyang Department Store, and Central Department Store enjoy the 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.

Education
There are 35 higher educational institutions which makes it a leading educational hub for China. Recognized institutions include the well-known Wuhan University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. 3 state-level development zones and many enterprise incubators are also significant aspects of Wuhan. Wuhan ranks third in China in overall strength of science and technology.

By the end of 2013, in Wuhan there were 1024 kindergartens with 224.3 thousand children, 590 primary schools with 424 thousand students, 369 general high schools with 314 thousand students, 105 secondary vocational and technical schools with 98.6 students and 80 colleges and universities with 966.4 thousand undergraduates and junior college students, and 107.4 thousand postgraduate students.

Wuhan University, located near East Lake, was founded in 1893 as Ziqiang Institute by Zhang Zhidong and named a national university in 1928. In 2000 three other first-rated universities were merged with the original university, forming a new university with 36 schools in 6 faculties. From the 1950s it has received international students from more than 109 countries. Among its staff, 7 are Chinese Academy of Sciences fellows, and 8 are Chinese Academy of Engineering fellows. Huazhong University of Science and Technology is another Project 985 university in Wuhan. Founded in 1953 as Huazhong Institute of Technology, it combined with three other universities (including former Tongji Medical University founded in 1907) in 2000 to form the new HUST, and has 42 schools and departments covering 12 comprehensive disciplines.

Culture
Wuhan is one of the birthplaces of the brilliant ancient Chu Culture in China. Han opera, which is the local opera of Wuhan area, was one of China's oldest and most popular operas. During the late Qing dynasty, Han opera, blended with Hui opera, gave birth to Peking opera, the most popular opera in modern China. Therefore, Han opera is called "mother of Peking opera" in China.

Cuisine
Hankou Zhuzhici (an ancient book recording stories about Wuhan) produced during the Daoguang Period of the Qing dynasty, reflects indirectly the eating habits and a wide variety of distinctive snacks with a long history in Wuhan, such as Qingshuizong (a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves) in the Period of the Warring States, Chunbinbian in Northern & Southern dynasties, mung bean jelly in the Sui dynasty, youguo (a deep-fried twisted dough stick) in the Song and Yuan dynasties, rice wine and mianwo in the Ming and Qing dynasties as well as three-delicacy stuffed skin of bean milk, tangbao (steamed dumpling filled with minced meat and gravy) and hot braised noodles in modern times.

Besides the snacks, Hubei cuisine ranks as one of China’s ten major styles of cooking with many representative dishes. With development of more than 2,000 years, Hubei cuisine, originating in Chu Cuisine in ancient times, has developed a lot of distinctive dishes with its own characteristics, such as steamed blunt-snout bream in clear soup, preserved ham with flowering Chinese cabbage, etc.

Sports
Wuhan has a professional football team Wuhan Zall F.C. that plays in China League One. Xinhua Road Sport Center, the home stadium of the team that has a capacity of 32,137, is located in the heart of the city next to Zhongshan Park. In 2013 season, Wuhan Zall was promoted to the top tier league of Chinese football--Chinese Super League and relocated its home to Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, a modern stadium located in suburban of the city that has 54,357 seats. However, the team did not play well in the season and was demoted back to China League One as 2013 season ended. Due to financial and transportation reasons, the team moved back to Xinhua Road Sport Center in 2014.

The 13,000 seat Wuhan Gymnasium held 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and will be one of the venues for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The city has been holding the women's tennis tournament Wuhan Open, one of the WTA Premier 5 tournaments, since 2014.

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