Wuhan
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Central China (华中) » Hubei (湖北) » Wuhan (武汉)
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[edit] Overview
Wuhan, capital city of Hubei province, is the transportation, economic and cultural hub of Central China. With a population of about 9.1 million (per 2006 census), it's the most populous city in the region. The metroplex includes three cities: Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, each separated from the other by a river.
[edit] History
Wuhan's history can be traced back to over 3,000 years ago when it was called Panlong city. It became a busy port during the Han Dynasty about 2000 years ago. At around 223 AD, Yellow Crane Tower was first constructed as a military watch tower, and in early 8th century became the most famous building in Central China through the poetry of Cui Hao (崔颢) during the Tang Dynasty. It was later destroyed and rebuilt over ten times.
Among the three cities, Wuchang and Hanyang were built at around the same time about 1800 years ago. Hankou started to rise during the mid-Ming Dynasty after Han River was redirected to run by the city. It quickly became a major commercial port and overtook Wuchang and Hanyang as the most famous city among the three. In 1661, Hankou Port was opened to the foreign trade, and the city of Hankou grew to an open international city from an closed inland town. In 1889, Zhang Zhidong was appointed the governor of Hubei Province, and Wuhan stepped on to the road of modernization in many areas such as transportation, commerce, science and education.
[edit] Map
[edit] Weather
Wuhan is known as one of the three "furnaces" in China. It's extremely hot in summer. Even when standing on the bank of Yangtze River, it's hard to feel a trace of wind. There are over ten days with temperature over 40 ℃ (104 F) in summer. Wuhan is very cold in the winter. It is not a good time to go to Wuhan in the summer and winter.
The best time to visit Wuhan is spring and fall seasons.
Current Conditions (2010-09-03 20:00:00, local time)
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Wuhan |
Temp: 72°F (22°C) |
Wuhan Weather Forecast
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| Weather averages for Wuhan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Avg high °C (°F) | 8 (46) | 10 (50) | 14 (57) | 22 (72) | 26 (79) | 30 (86) | 33 (91) | 32 (90) | 28 (82) | 23 (73) | 17 (63) | 11 (52) | |
| Avg low °C (°F) | 1 (34) | 3 (37) | 7 (45) | 14 (57) | 19 (66) | 23 (73) | 26 (79) | 25 (77) | 20 (68) | 14 (57) | 8 (46) | 3 (37) | |
| Rain cm (inches) | 4.03 (1.6) | 5.54 (2.2) | 7.05 (2.8) | 10.44 (4.1) | 12.13 (4.8) | 16.41 (6.5) | 17.9 (7) | 9.08 (3.6) | 5.32 (2.1) | 5.22 (2.1) | 4.38 (1.7) | 2.33 (0.9) | |
| Source: per MSN 2008 | |||||||||||||
[edit] Video
| Wuhan |
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[edit] Getting in & Getting out
[edit] By Air
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (武汉天河国际机场) is located in Tianhe Town of Huangpo District at the north side of Wuhan City. It is about 25 minutes from the city area. The airport has daily domestic flights to major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Nanchang, Fuzhou, Chengdu, and some international flights.
[edit] By Train
Wuhan is an important railway transportation hub in Central China. Many major railways, such as Jingguang (Beijing-Guangzhou) Railway, Xiangyu (Xiangfan-Chongqing) Railway, Handan (Wuhan-Danjiang) Railway, Jiaozhi (Jiaozuo-Zhicheng) Railway, Zhiliu (Zhicheng-Liuzhou) Railway, and Wuda Railway all pass Wuhan. It has daily trains to many cities inside Hubei province, and other major cities outside Hubei Province, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin, Urumqi, Luoyang, Chongqing, Xi'an, Kunming, Chengdu, Liuzhou, Guangzhou, Nanchang. There are more than 70 trains originated from Wuhan, and more than 120 trains pass here.
Wuhan has three train stations: Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang railway stations. Most trains originate from either Hankou Railway Station or Wuchang Railway Station. When take trains, check the tickets and pay special attention to the station where you will board.
[edit] By Bus
[edit] By Ship
You can also reach Wuhan via boats on the Yangtse, either from downstream centers such as Shanghai and Nanjingor from Chongqing further upstream, via the famous Three Gorges route.
[edit] Getting Around
[edit] By Public Bus
Wuhan has a cheap, efficient, but horribly bewildering bus system in place. The service has vastly improved compared to the past.It is the cheapest way to get around the city. If you have a local to guide you, it can be used to get from place to place with impressive speed (if not comfort or safety). Without a local to guide you, you'd better have a very good map and a good grasp of Chinese.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] By Tour Bus
[edit] By ferry
The Changjiang River can be crossed by ferry for a very reasonable fee of 1.5RMB. The ferry runs frequently starting at 7AM and ending at 9PM. It offers by virtue of its unique location some nice views of the city, the Number One Chang River Bridge, Yellow Crane Tower, etc. during the day and an interesting nightscape view after dark.
[edit] By Taxi & Rental Car
Taxis abound in Wuhan, easily outnumbering other private and public vehicles. Rates are relatively cheap at 3RMB on the flag and with around 50RMB getting you between almost any two spots you're likely to want to travel between. It is possible to get higher taxi fares, but usually only because the taxi driver has deliberately taken you on a longer trip (which is, thankfully, not a common occurrence). Airport taxis are the exception. Foreigners in particular are likely to get ripped off by taxi drivers at the airport. They will demand prices starting at 150RMB to go anywhere in the city. (For reference, going from the airport to the middle of Hanyang costs about 50RMB typically.) It is advisable to insist on the metre before the taxi starts moving and if the driver refuses, step out, collect your luggage and go back to the taxi stand.
Note that this problem is strongly ameliorated during the daytime when there is a supervisor at the taxi stand who is an airport employee, not a taxi driver himself.
One oddity of the taxi system is crossing the bridges. Because of the traffic problems and snarls at the bridges, the city has instituted a system in which half the taxis are not permitted to cross the bridge on half the days. Basically, if the day of the month is odd, odd-numbered taxis are allowed to use the Number One bridge. If the day of the month is even, even-numbered taxis are allowed to use the Number One bridge. This system may extend to the Number Two bridge (this is not yet confirmed) but it does not extend to the Number Three Bridge. In most circumstances, however, it is not advisable to use the Number Three bridge as it tends to increase the taxi fares dramatically (although it is an interesting ride).
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Attractions
» Search more Wuhan attractions...
[edit] Hotels
[edit] Budget
[edit] Mid Range
- Hubei Lijiang Hotel
- Hotel Ibis Wuhan
- Jiangcheng Hotel
- Jinhai Hotel of Hubei Civil Aviation
- Wuhan Wesun Hotel
- Wuhan Xuangong Hotel
- Xin Dong Fang Hotel
[edit] Luxury
- Barony Resort at Longquan
- Crown Hotel
- Gaoxiong Hotel
- Haiyi Jinjiang Hotel
- Holiday Inn Riverside Wuhan
- Holiday Inn Tian An Wuhan City Center
- Hong Yi Hotel
- Hubei Taihua Hotel
- Li Yuan Hotel
- Marshal Palace Hotel
» Search more Wuhan hotels ...
[edit] Restaurants
Re Gan Mian is the local specialty for breakfast, if you're in the mood for greasy peanut butter flavored noodles. Real men find their fuel on the streets betwixt the hours of 12:00-5:00 in the AM. On these streets there are generous and well-meaning folk selling dumplings, noodles, wok food, and foies gras. On the odd occasion that the lounge is closed, one is able to sit outside and enjoy the clean night air, the delightful local dialect, and any foods you order. If you're in the mood for a more romantic night on the town, there are countless 3-wall restaurants with candle lights upon the tables, live music flowing from the muses' mouths, and 4-star restaurants' finest fair at a reasonable and sanitary locale.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Shopping
Wuhan's best (or at least biggest) book and map store is probably Chongwen Book City (Chongwen Shu Cheng). It occupies the 3rd floor of a huge building located in the Xiongchu Avenu (Xiongchu Dajie) near South Loushi St. (Loushi Nan Lu) - that's about a couple miles east of Wuchang train station. The place is huge - as big as any Borders or B&N in the US. Most books are categorized by topics, but there are also sections dedicated to specific publishers. Most books are of course in Chinese, but a foreign traveller may be interested in their map department is well stocked. Among other products, they carry a series of road atlases for most of China's provinces and autonomous regions, suitable for both drivers and bicyclists. There is also an internet cafe on the 4th floor.
Another big book shop is the Hubei Province Foreign Languages Book Shop (Wai wen shu dian, or some such - there is no English sign! - in Zhongnan Lu just north of Wulou Lu). The "foreign languages" in its name seems to refer mostly to the textbooks and dictionaries of foreign languages for the Chinese audience and the books translated into Chinese from foreign languages, but they carry some literature in English as well.
There are also a few large Xinhua bookstores throughout the city.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Night Life & Entertainment
It would be considered a sin to visit this city and not taste some of its finest nectars. Included in this list is Jingjiu (a healthy alternative to regular wines), Baijiu (the flavorful but tasty liqueur that that will be the perfect accompaniment to any conversation with a loved one). If you would like to taste something slightly more low key, there is a local micro-brew called Singo (Xingyinge), that will be the beginning of every good night, at just 1.5Y per bottle.
- VOX, Luxiang Lumo Road. The most popular bar in Wuhan for non-Chinese, VOX is a small bar with a DJ and dance floor, typically playing techno music, but often has special nights in which a specific genre is played (such as rap/r&b). It regularly has decent rock/punk shows on weekends. Beers start at 5 Yuan.
--from wikitravel.org
[edit] Sports & Recreation
[edit] Excursions & Day Trips
iqing Street (吉庆街), an ordinary-seeming street by day, becomes transformed by night into a bewildering maze of streetside restaurants and buskers performing music, dance, opera and stand-up comedy. It is a strongly-recommended experience. Food is plentiful and cheap, and it features a lot of unique local cuisine. The performances can be enjoyed by proxy as performers work other tables or they can be purchased. One can expect to pay about 10RMB per song performed. Other performances are more based on contributions—the more you contribute, the longer the performers will do their routines and the more daring/interesting/funny the routines will be. Jianghan Road by night. Jianghan Road by night. Also of potential interest to a visitor is Jianghan Road (江汉路) in Hankou, a pedestrian mall almost as long as Shanghai's famed East Nanjing Road. During the day it is an interesting look at rampant consumerism in China's rapidly-growing middle class. At night, starting at 7PM, it is the same but is expanded on each side a few blocks deep by a night market with literally thousands of little stalls hawking every variety of goods imaginable: makeup, souvenirs, clothing, housewares, food, music, movies, etc.
--from wikitravel.org
