Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, is the largest city in Central China. Its subtropical climate is characterized by humid weather and a monsoon season. Located at the junction of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and the Yangtze River waterway, Wuhan has always been known as the "Thoroughfare of Nine Provinces." Covering an area of 8,410 square kilometres the City of Wuhan has a population of 7 . 4 million.

Wuhan has a long history and rich cultural heritage. Archaeological findings indicate that Panlong, a city north of Wuhan, dates back more than 3,500 years, to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). Wuhan is also home to Chu Culture, which has a history of over 2 , 500 years. The Yellow Crane Tower is one of three famous historical towers south of the Yangtze River (the other two being Yueyang Tower in Hunan Province and the Prince Teng Tower in Jiangxi Province). East Lake is a state-recognized scenic spot loved for its natural beauty. And the Guiyuan Buddhist Temple is known as "the ancient temple at the Buddhist centre." It is also the most convenient base from which to explore the Three Gorges and other famous prime sights in Central China. The city has a solid industrial foundation, with metallurgy, machinery, light industry, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronics and building materials as its pillar industries. Some promising high-tech sectors are rising, including fiber optics, biological engineering, lasers, microelectronics, and new materials.

Yellow Crane Tower

Yellow Crane Tower, one of the Three Great Towers south of the Yangtze River (the other two being Yueyang Tower in Hunan, and Prince Teng Pavilion in Nanchang), attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists both from home and abroad every year. A military observation post overlooking the Yangtze River already well known more than 1,700 years ago (W u Kingdom built it in the period 222 to 280), the place became nationally famous as later dynasties built and rebuilt a tower there. A delightful legend has it that a fairy riding a yellow crane was once attracted to the site, hence the name. Over the centuries the tower was repeatedly destroyed in wars or by fires. A conflagration in 1884 finally razed it to the ground. In the Qing Dynasty alone, the tower was rebuilt or renovated four times. As the nation became weaker and poorer in the subsequent years, reconstruction seemed impossible. Nostalgic tourists could find the tower only in ancient poems and paintings. As things got better after the reform and opening-up in 1978, the city authorities rebuilt it in 1986, using the old records and pictures as a model. Beside the new Yellow Crane Tower is a White Stupa (a tower-like Buddhist shrine) that dates from the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

The Ancient Lute (Boya) Platform

According to the folklore, this is the place where Yu Boya , a musician during the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC), when playing the lute on the boat, met Zhong Ziqi who could understand and appreciate his performance. They became bosom friends and arranged to meet again at the same time the following year. Y u Boya returned only to find that his friend had died. At Zhong Ziqi's grave, Yu Boya played a farewell song, and vowing never again to use the instrument, broke its strings. The platform is located at the western foot of the Tortoise Hill in Hanyang. To the north of the platform lies the Moon Lake and to the west of it the Plum Hill is visible in a distance. With rows of verandas and tiers of pavilions surrounded by green pines and cypresses, the scene is very charming and attractive. The Lute Platform is now a haven for Chinese-opera lovers who gather in mornings to sip tea and listen to the performers. In the gardens, martial arts and exercise classes are held. Paintings by local artists are on display and for sale in the main hall. Nearby is a Qing memorial stone dedicated to the lute player.

Guiyuan Temple

This Buddhist temple on Cuiwei Transverse Street , Hanyang, Wuhan was built in the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, with a history of approximately 400 years. "Guiyuan" in Chinese means achieving sainthood and becoming a Buddha. In this temple, there have been preserved many works of art such as a number of valuable Buddhist images and steles. The temple buildings are grand and the sculptures lifelike.

The striking architectural complex includes Drum and Bell towers, temple halls, the Arhat Hall and the Lotus Pond. The Arhat hall contains 500 goldpainted wooden statues of Buddhist monk-saints, no two are the same. Legend relates that the two sculptors employed on this task took nine years to complete it. The temple runs a vegetarian restaurant, the Yunjizhai, for tourists.

The Hubei Provincial Museum

The exhibition from the Marquis of Zeng's Tombs (which dated back to 433 BC, a Chu tomb) in the Hubei Provincial Museum is an eye-opener. The tomb owner was Marquis Zeng who died at the age of around 45. In 1978, construction workers at Suixian, north of Wuhan, hit upon a burial site. They found a huge exquisitely painted casket and 22 smaller coffins, together with some 7,000 items, such as musical instruments (including bells , chimes , drums , 25-stringed horizontal harp, Chinese wind pipe , general name for certain musical instruments, Chinese vertical bamboo flute and Chinese flute , 8- holed bamboo flute), precious treasures of bronze, silver, gold, jade, lacquer and bamboo, plus weapons and inscribed bamboo slips. Twenty-one women (their age ranged from 13 to 23) and a pet dog were buried with this ancient nobleman as living sacrifices.

The bronze vessels are so intricately and beautifully made that modern metallurgists and craftsmen would find it hard to duplicate them. Most noteworthy, however, are the 124 musical instruments, particularly the set of 64 chime bells of different sizes (the largest piece being 153.4 centimetres in height, weighing 203.6 kilograms), which are in such good shape that they can still be played. Hubei artists have had replicas made and produced a song and dance performance centred around them which aroused keen interest at home and abroad.

Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge

Constructed in the period 1955 to 1957, the 1,670 .4-metre-Iong bridge began revamping on August 12, 2002, which was the first large-scale renovation since it became operational 46 years ago. The rehabilitation project has made the bridge more reliable and able to accommodate an expanding traffic flow.
The Facelift of the Warship

The Zhongshan Warship was renovated and received its final inspection on December 23, 2001. The warship, named after Dr Sun Yat-sen, also known as Sun Zhongshan, was bombed by Japanese invaders in 1938 during the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-1945), near Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province. It was raised to the surface in January 1997 and sent to the Hubei Shipyard for repair. Renovation started at the end of 1999.