Hankou was captured by the Japanese invaders in 1938 (Battle of Wuhan). The Chinese-born writer Han Suyin's novel Destination Chungking (1942) has a significant chapter at its beginning which describes the retreat from Hankou of China's Nationalist Government forces in front of Japan's army and air force invasion in 1938, as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It is partly autobiographical, as Han Suyin's first husband was an officer with China Nationalist army.