Wuhan, with “Han” as the short name, also known as the River City, is the capital of Hubei Province, a megacity, the only sub-provincial city in the six central China provinces, a central city in central China approved by the State Council, an important industrial base, science and education base and comprehensive nationwide transportation hub in China. As of the end of 2019, the city has 13 districts with a total area of 8569.15 square kilometers, a built-up area of 812.39 square kilometers, a permanent population of 11.212 million, and a regional GDP of RMB 1.62 trillion yuan.

Wuhan is located in the eastern part of the Jianghan Plain and the middle reach of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River and its largest tributary Han River converge in the city, dividing it into three towns. The rivers in the city are intertwined with lakes and ports, with water area accounting for a quarter of the city’s total area. As the geographical center of China’s economy, Wuhan has always been known as the “Thoroughfare that leads to Nine Provinces”. It is the largest water, land and air transportation hub in inland China and a shipping center in the middle reach of the Yangtze River. Its high-speed rail network radiates over half of China, making it the only city in central China that has direct flights to five continents around the globe.

Wuhan is the place where the Joint Logistics Support Force are stationed, the core city of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the strategic fulcrum for the rise of central China, and the comprehensive innovation and reform experimental zone. It is also one of the three major intelligence-intensive areas in the country. China Optics Valley is committed to building itself into an innovation and entrepreneurship center with global influence. According to the requirements of the National Development and Reform Commission, Wuhan is accelerating its completion of building the city into a national central city supported by the four major functions as a national economic center, a high-level scientific and technological innovation center, a trade and logistics center and an international exchange center.

Wuhan is also a national historical and cultural city and an important birthplace of Chu culture. The ruins of Panlong City in the territory have a history of 3,500 years. Since the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, Wuhan has always been an important military and commercial city in southern China. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it became the most prosperous place in Chu and one of the four trade hubs in China. The opening of port in 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, known as the “Oriental Chicago”. Wuhan is the place where the Revolution of 1911 began and had become the political, military and cultural center of China several times in modern history.