Wuhan

Wuhan is also a rapidly growing city, but one whose growth does not arise from proximity to Hong Kong and the Special Economic Zones of southern China. It is an inland port on the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River), located where the Chang Jiang’s biggest tributary, the Han Shui (Han River), flows into it from the east. The city is known for its many lakes, which occupy much of the area on all sides of the two rivers.

The city of Wuhan is the largest urban area in central China. For much of its history it was a conurbation of three cities that were located on opposite sides of the Han Shui (Hanyang, Hankou) and Chang Jiang (Wuchang). In 1950, the Chinese government merged the three cities into the consolidated city of Wuhan. The city’s position on the country’s major inland waterway and its proximity to nearby coal and iron ore resources helped it to become one of China’s largest areas for steel and iron production. This, in turn, contributed to Wuhan’s rise as the country’s center for automobile manufacturing. Other local industries include chemicals, fertilizers, and heavy machinery tools.

Despite the continued economic reliance on sometimes aging heavy-industry plants, Wuhan’s future looks bright. As costs have risen in other Chinese cities, such as Shanghai, more foreign investment has been funneled into relatively cheaper Wuhan. In addition, only Beijing and Shanghai surpass Wuhan in quality and number of universities.

Two of these universities in particular, Wuhan University and the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, have helped the city become a world center of optoelectronic information technology, leading to the city’s moniker as the “Optics Valley of China.”