Wuhan

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Wuhàn (Traditional Chinese: 武漢, Simplified Chinese: 武汉) is the capital of Hubei province, the most populated city in central China, lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers.

Geography
The city comprises three towns - Wuchang, Hànkou, and Hànyáng which face each other across the rivers and are linked by three bridges. It is simple in geographical structure - low and flat in the middle and hilly in the south, with the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) and Han rivers winding through the city.

Wuhàn (Traditional Chinese: 武漢, Simplified Chinese: 武汉) is the capital of Hubei province, the most populated city in central China, lies at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han Rivers.

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 centuries AD, walls were built to protect Hanyang (206 AD) and Wuchang (223 AD). The latter event marks the foundation of Wuhan. In 223 AD, the Yellow Crane Tower was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River. Cui Hào, 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. 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 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 first Yangtze Bridge was built in Wuhan in 1957, thus connecting North and South China by railroad for the first time in history. Including its approaches, it is 5,511 feet long, and it accommodates both the double-track railway and a roadway.

The Yellow Crane Tower, which had been destroyed and reconstructed numerous times, was burned again in 1884. Reconstruction took place in 1981.

Economy
It is a sub-provincial city. The GDP per capita was RMB16,206 (ca. US$1,960) in 2003, ranked no. 114 among 659 Chinese cities.