Wuhan, abbreviated as "Han" and also known as "Jiangcheng", is a prefecture level city and provincial capital in Hubei Province. It is the only sub provincial city and mega city in the six central provinces of China, designated by the State Council as the central city of central China. It is a national historical and cultural city, an international comprehensive transportation hub city, an economic center, scientific and technological innovation center, a commercial and logistics center, an external communication center, and a shipping center in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River The city has 13 districts under its jurisdiction, with a total area of 8569.15 square kilometers. At the end of 2024, the city's permanent population was 13.8091 million.
Wuhan is located in the eastern part of the Jianghan Plain and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River and its largest tributary, the Han River, intersect here, forming a pattern of three towns in Wuhan (Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang) standing across the river. The city is crisscrossed by rivers, lakes, and ports, with a water area accounting for one fourth of the total area of the city. It has been rated as an international wetland city. As the economic and geographical center of China, Wuhan is known as the "thoroughfare of nine provinces" and is the largest inland water, land, and air transportation hub in China. Its high-speed rail network radiates more than half of China and can directly travel to five continents around the world.
Wuhan is an important birthplace of Chu culture, and has been a military and commercial center in southern China since the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. During the Yuan Dynasty, it became the provincial capital of Hubei and Guangxi, and during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was known as the "first prosperous place in Chu" and one of the "four gathering places in the world". The opening of Hankou and the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty started the modernization process of Wuhan, making it an important economic center in modern China. Wuhan was the birthplace of the Xinhai Revolution and has become the political, military, and cultural center of the country several times in modern history.