| Wuhan alone is the fifth largest city in the People's Republic of China but it is actually a combination of the cities of Hankow, Han-yang and Wu-ch'ang, the last being the capital of the Hubei Province. They span the intersection of the Han and Yangtze rivers and were merged by the government in 1950, now boasting a population of 7,160,000.
What distinguishes Wuhan is its central location and accessibility, about halfway between Beijing and Guangzhou and halfway between Shanghai and Chongqing on the banks of the country's most important river. Despite being 600 miles from the ocean the Yangtze's size enables ocean ships to navigate up the river and along with the railways passing through this makes Wuhan a commercial distribution center for necessities such as tea, silk and cotton.
The area which the city now inhabits was first settled during between 1111 and 771 BC during the Western Chou period and a millennium later during the Three Kingdoms period it was the capital city of the Wu dynasty. Although Wu-ch'ang and the area around it was never so prominent again it was later a district capital. Han-yang was never a terribly significant area in the years after it's founding during the Sui dynasty, but Han-k'ou (formerly Hsia-k'ou) was a major commercial center during the Sung dynasty and was opened to foreign trade significantly later due to the treaties of Tientsin in 1858. In 1911 the Chinese Republican Revolution started in the army barracks in Wu-ch'ang, with the area being the site of major engagements and later the site of the first industrial strikes which paved the way for the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The Nationalists and Communists often were in conflict in the city and when the capital of the Nationalist government in Nanjing fell in 1937 to the Japanese the retreated to Han-k'ou, which was invaded the next year after four months of defense. Control was again held by the Nationalists from the Japanese retreat in 1945 until the city was taken by the communists in 1949.
The cities owe their development as a commercial center to the European trade and commerce starting in the late 19th century. The first modern steel plant was built in the 1890s in Han-yang and today the area is the second most important in the country's metal industry. Other industries include cotton, textiles, rice and oil. Attractions in the city include Wuhan University, Central China Technical University, Wuhan Medical School, a Taoist temple called Chang Chun Kuan, a temple and shrine from the Yuan dynasty and an 8th century pavilion known as the Ku Chin T'ai.
Location: 2958' - 3122' north latitude, 113°41' - 115°05' east longitude
Population: 7,160,000
Urban Population: 4,860,000
Area: 8,467 sq km
Average Temperature: 16°C
Sources:
"Wu-han." Encyclopędia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopędia Britannica Online.
18 Jan. 2004 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=79666>.
"Wuhan: China Travel Information." Travel China Guide.com. 18 Jan. 2004<http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/wuhan.htm>. | 
