Hubei

Hubeiis aprovinceinCentral China. It has theseventh-largest economyamong Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland provinces. Its provincial capital atWuhanserves as a major political, cultural, and economic hub for the region.
Hubei is associated with the historicalstate of Ethat existed during theWestern Zhou dynasty(c.1045– 771 BCE). Its name means 'north of the lake', referring toDongting Lake.It bordersHenanto the north,AnhuiandJiangxito the east,Hunanto the south, andChongqingandShaanxito the west. The high-profileThree Gorges Damis located atYichangin the west of the province.
The Hubei region was home to sophisticatedNeolithiccultures.By theSpring and Autumn period(770–476 BC), the territory of today's Hubei formed part of the powerfulState of Chu. Chu, nominally a tributary state of theZhou dynasty, was itself an extension of the Chinese civilization that had emerged some centuries before in the north; but Chu also represented a culturally unique blend of northern and southern culture, and it developed into a powerful state that controlled much of the middle and lowerYangtze River, with its power extending northwards into theNorth China Plain.
During theWarring States period(475–221 BC) Chu became the major adversary of the upstartState of Qinto the northwest (in present-dayGuanzhong,Shaanxiprovince), which began to assert itself by outward expansionism. As wars between Qin and Chu ensued, Chu lost more and more land: first its dominance over theSichuan Basin, then (in 278 BC) its heartland, which correspond to modern Hubei.In 223 BC Qin chased down the remnants of the Chu regime, which had fled eastwardsduring Qin's wars of uniting China.
Qin founded theQin dynastyin 221 BC, the first unified dynasty inChina. The Qin dynasty was succeeded in 206 BC by theHan dynasty, which established the province (zhou) ofJingzhouin today's Hubei andHunan. The Qin and Han played an active role in the extension of farmland in Hubei, maintaining a system of river dikes to protect farms from summer floods.Towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty in the beginning of the 3rd century, Jingzhou was ruled by regional warlordLiu Biao. After his death in 208, Liu Biao's realm was surrendered byhis successorstoCao Cao, a powerful warlord who had conquered nearly all of north China; but in theBattle of Red Cliffs(208 or 209), warlordsLiu BeiandSun Quandrove Cao Cao out of Jingzhou. Liu Bei then took control of Jingzhou and appointed Guan Yu as administrator of Xiangyang (in modernXiangyang, Hubei) to guard Jing province; he went on to conquer Yizhou (the Sichuan Basin), but lost Jingzhou to Sun Quan; for the next few decades Jingzhou was controlled by theWu Kingdom, ruled by Sun Quan and his successors.
The incursion of northern nomadic peoples into the region at the beginning of the 4th century (Five Barbarians' rebellionandDisaster of Yongjia(永嘉之乱)) began nearly three centuries of division into a nomad-ruled (but increasingly Sinicized) north and aHan Chinese-ruled south. Hubei, to the south, remained under southern rule for this entire period, until the unification of China by theSui dynastyin 589. In 617 theTang dynastyreplaced Sui, and later on the Tang dynasty placed present-day Hubei under the jurisdiction of severalcircuits:Jiangnanxi Circuitin the south;Shannandong Circuit(山南东道) in the west, andHuainan Circuitin the east. After the Tang dynasty disintegrated in the early 10th century, Hubei came under the control of several regional regimes:Jingnanin the center,Yang Wuand its successorSouthern Tangto the east, theFive Dynastiesto the north and Shu to Shizhou (施州, in modernEnshi,Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture).
TheSong dynastyreunified the region in 982 and placed most of Hubei intoJinghubei Circuit, a longer version of Hubei's current name.Mongolsconquered the region in 1279, and undertheir rulethe province ofHuguangwas established, covering Hubei, Hunan, and parts ofGuangdongandGuangxi.During the Mongol rule, in 1331, Hubei was devastated by an outbreak of theBlack Death, which reachedEngland,Belgium, andItalyby June 1348, and which, according to Chinese sources, spread during the following three centuries to decimate populations throughout Eurasia.
TheMing dynasty(1368–1644) drove out the Mongols in 1368. Their version of Huguang province was smaller, and corresponded almost entirely to the modern provinces of Hubei and Hunan combined. Hubei lay geographically outside the centers of the Ming power. During the last years of the Ming, today's Hubei was ravaged several times by the rebel armies ofZhang XianzhongandLi Zicheng. TheManchuQing dynastywhich took control of much of the region in 1644, soon split Huguang into the modern provinces of Hubei and Hunan. The Qing dynasty, however, continued to maintain aViceroy of Huguang, one of the most well-known viceroys beingZhang Zhidong(in office between 1889 and 1907), whose modernizing reforms made Hubei (especiallyWuhan) into a prosperous center of commerce and industry. TheHuangshi/Dayearea, south-east of Wuhan, became an important center of mining and metallurgy.
In 1911, theWuchang Uprisingtook place in modern-day Wuhan. The uprising started theXinhai Revolution, which overthrew the Qing dynasty and established theRepublic of China. In 1927 Wuhan became the seat of a government established by left-wing elements of theKuomintang, led byWang Jingwei; this government later merged intoChiang Kai-shek's government inNanjing. DuringWorld War IIthe eastern parts of Hubei were conquered and occupied byJapan, while the western parts remained under Chinese control.
During theCultural Revolutionin the 1960s, Wuhan saw fighting between rivalRed Guardfactions. In July 1967, civil strife struck the city in theWuhan Incident("July 20th Incident"), an armed conflict between two hostile groups who were fighting for control over the city at the height of the Cultural Revolution.
As the fears of a nuclear war increased during the time ofSino-Soviet border conflictsin the late 1960s, theXianningprefecture of Hubei was chosen as the site ofProject 131, an underground military-command headquarters.
The province—and Wuhan in particular—suffered severely from the1954 Yangtze River Floods. Large-scale dam construction followed, with theGezhouba Damon theYangtze RivernearYichangstarted in 1970 and completed in 1988; the construction of theThree Gorges Dam, further upstream, began in 1993. In the following years, authorities resettled millions of people from western Hubei to make way for the construction of the dam. A number of smaller dams have been constructed on the Yangtze's tributaries as well.
TheXianning Nuclear Power Plantis planned in Dafanzhen, Tongshan County, Xianning, to host at least four 1,250-megawatt (MW) AP1000 pressurized-water reactors.
Work on the site began in 2010; plans envisaged that the first reactor would start construction in 2011 and go online in 2015. However, construction of the first phase had yet to start as of 2018.
On 1 December 2019, the first case ofCOVID-19in theCOVID-19 pandemicwas identified in the city ofWuhan. In January 2020, theSARS-CoV-2virus was officially identified, leading local and federal governments to implement massivequarantinezones across Hubei province, especially in the capitalWuhan(the epicenter of the outbreak). Authorities partially or fully locked down 15 cities, directly affecting 57 million people. Following severe outbreaks in numerous other countries, including in different areas of the world, theWorld Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a pandemicin March 2020. However, after more than eight weeks, the lockdown on most cities in the province was lifted.
TheJianghan Plaintakes up most of central and southern Hubei, while the west and the peripheries are moremountainous, with ranges such as theWudang Mountains, theJing Mountains, theDaba Mountains, and theWu Mountains(in rough north-to-south order). TheDabie Mountainslie to the northeast of the Jianghan Plain, on the border withHenanandAnhui; the Tongbai Mountains lie to the north on the border withHenan; to the southeast, theMufu Mountainsform the border withJiangxi. The highest peak in Hubei isShennong Peak, found in theDaba Mountainsof theforestryarea ofShennongjia; it has an altitude of 3105 m.
The two major rivers of Hubei are theYangtze Riverand its left tributary, theHan River; they lend their names to theJianghan Plain– Jiang representing the Yangtze and han representing the Han River. The Yangtze River enters Hubei from the west via theThree Gorges; the eastern half of theThree Gorges(Xiling Gorgeand part ofWu Gorge) lie in western Hubei, while the western half is in neighbouringChongqing. The Han River enters the province from the northwest. After crossing most of the province, the two great rivers meet at the center of Wuhan, the provincial capital.
Among the notable tributaries of the Yangtze within the province are theShen Nong Stream(a small northern tributary, severely affected by the Three Gorges Dam project); theQing, a major waterway of southwestern Hubei; theHuangbonearYichang; and theFushui Riverin the southeast.
Thousands of lakes dot the landscape of Hubei's Jianghan Plain, giving Hubei the name of "Province of Lakes"; the largest of these lakes areLiangzi LakeandHong Lake. The numerous hydrodams have created a number of large reservoirs, the largest of which is theDanjiangkou Reservoiron the Han River, on the border between Hubei andHenan.
Hubei has ahumid subtropical climate(CfaorCwaunder theKöppen climate classification), with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool to cold, with average temperatures of 1 to 6 °C (34 to 43 °F) in January, while summers are hot and humid, with average temperatures of 24 to 30 °C (75 to 86 °F) in July; punishing temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) or above are widely associated with Wuhan, the provincial capital. The mountainous districts of western Hubei, in particularShennongjia, with their cooler summers, attract numerous visitors from Wuhan and other lowland cities.
Besides the capitalWuhan, other important cities areJingmen;Shiyan, a center of automotive industry and the gateway to theWudang Mountains;Yichang, the main base for the gigantic hydroelectric projects of southwestern Hubei; andShashi.
Hubei is divided into thirteenprefecture-level divisions(of which there are twelveprefecture-level cities(including asub-provincial city) and oneautonomous prefecture), as well as three directly administeredcounty-level cities(allsub-prefecture-level cities) and one directly administered county-level forestry area. At the end of 2017, the total population was 59.02 million.
The thirteenPrefectureand four directly administeredcounty-level divisionsof Hubei are subdivided into 103county-level divisions(39districts, 24county-level cities, 37counties, 2autonomous counties, 1 forestry district; the directly administered county-level divisions are included here). Those are in turn divided into 1234township-level divisions(737towns, 215townships, nineethnic townships, and 273subdistricts).
Secretaries of theChinese Communist PartyHubei Committee:
Governors of Hubei:
Hubei is often called the "Land of Fish and Rice" (鱼米之乡). Important agricultural products in Hubei includecotton,rice,wheat, andtea, while industries includeautomobiles, metallurgy, machinery, power generation, textiles, foodstuffs and high-tech commodities.
Mineralresources that can be found in Hubei in significant quantities includeborax,hongshiite,wollastonite,garnet,marlstone,iron,phosphorus,copper,gypsum,rutile,rock salt,goldamalgam,manganeseandvanadium. The province's recoverable reserves ofcoalstand at 548 million tons, which is modest compared to other Chinese provinces. Hubei is well known for its mines of fine turquoise and green faustite.
Hubei was a major recipient of China's investment in industrial capacity during theThird Frontcampaign.
Since completion in 2012, theThree Gorges Damin western Hubei provides plentifulhydroelectricity, with an average annual power production of 95 Twh. Existing hydroelectric stations includeGezhouba,Danjiangkou,Geheyan,Hanjiang,Duhe,Huanglongtan,Bailianhe,LushuiandFushui.
Hubei is the7th-largest provincial economyof China, the second largest in theCentral Chinaregion afterHenan, the third largest in theSouth Central Chinaregion afterGuangdongand Henan and the third largest among inland provinces afterHenanandSichuan. As of 2021, Hubei'snominal GDPwas US$787 billion (CNY 5 trillion). Its GDP (nominal) per capita exceeded US$13,000, making it therichest landlocked province, the richest province in theCentral Chinaregion, and 2nd richest province inSouth Central Chinaregion afterGuangdong.
Han Chineseform the dominant ethnic group in Hubei. A considerableMiaoandTujiapopulation live in the southwestern part of the province, especially inEnshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.
On October 18, 2009, Chinese officials began to relocate 330,000 residents from the Hubei andHenanprovinces that will be affected by the Danjiangkou Reservoir on theHan river. The reservoir is part of the largerSouth-North Water Transfer Project.
The predominant religions in Hubei areChinese folk religions,Taoist traditionsandChinese Buddhism. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 6.5% of the population believes and is involved incults of ancestors, while 0.58% of the population identifies as Christian, declining from 0.83% in 2004.The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 92.92% of the population may be either irreligious or involved inworship of nature deities, Buddhism,Confucianism, Taoism,folk religious sects.
People in Hubei speakMandarindialects; most of these dialects are classified asSouthwestern Mandarindialects, a group that also encompasses the Mandarin dialects of most of southwestern China.
Perhaps the most celebrated element ofHubei cuisineis theWuchang bream, a freshwaterbreamthat is commonly steamed.
Types of traditionalChinese operapopular in Hubei includeHanjuandChuju(楚剧;Chǔ Jù).
TheShennongjiaarea is the alleged home of theYeren, a wild undiscoveredhominidthat lives in the forested hills.
The people of Hubei are given the uncomplimentary nickname "Nine-headed Birds" by other Chinese, from amythologicalcreature said to be very aggressive and hard to kill."In the sky live nine-headed birds. On the earth live Hubei people."(天上九头鸟，地上湖北佬;Tiānshàng jiǔ tóu niǎo, dìshàng Húběi lǎo)
Wuhanis one of the major culture centers in China.
Hubei is thought to be the province that originated the card game ofdou dizhu.
As of 2022, Hubei hosts 130 institutions of higher education, ranking sixth together withHunan(130) among all Chinese provinces afterJiangsu(168),Guangdong(160),Henan(156),Shandong(153), andSichuan(134).TheHuazhong University of Science and Technology(HUST),Wuhan Universityand many other institutions in Wuhan make it a hub of higher education and research in China. Wuhan is the city that has the largest college student population in the world (1.3 million) studying in its 89 universities.
Prior to the construction of China's national railway network, theYangtzeandHanshuiRivers had been the main transportation arteries of Hubei for many centuries, and still continue to play an important transport role.
Historically, Hubei's overland transport network was hampered by the lack of bridges across theYangtze River, which divides the province into northern and southern regions. The first bridge across the Yangtze in Hubei, theWuhan Yangtze River Bridgewas completed in 1957, followed by the Zhicheng Bridge in 1971. As of October 2014, Hubei had23 bridges and tunnelsacross the Yangtze River, including nine bridges and three tunnels in Wuhan.
Therailway from Beijingreached Wuhan in 1905, and was later extended to Guangzhou, becoming the first north-to-south railway mainline to cross China. A number of other lines crossed the province later on, including theJiaozuo–Liuzhou railwayandBeijing–Kowloon railway, respectively, in the western and eastern part of the province.
The first decade of the 21st century has seen a large amount of new railway construction in Hubei. TheWuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway, roughly parallel to the original Wuhan-Guangzhou line, opened in late 2009, it was subsequently extended to the north, to Beijing becoming theBeijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway. An east-west high-speed corridor connecting major cities along the Yangtze, theShanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu passenger railwaywas gradually opened between 2008 and 2012, theWuhan–Yichang railwaysection of it opening in 2012.TheWuhan–Xiaogan intercity railwaywas opened in December 2016 and it was extended when theWuhan–Shiyan high-speed railwayopened in November 2019.
Hubei's main airport isWuhan Tianhe International Airport.Yichang Sanxia Airportserves the Three Gorges region. There are also passenger airportsin Xiangyang,Enshi, andJingzhou(Shashi Airport, named after the city'sShashi District).
The province's best-known natural attraction (shared with the adjacentChongqingmunicipality) is the scenic area of theThree Gorgesof the Yangtze. Located in the far west of the province, the gorges can be conveniently visited by one of the numerous tourist boats (or regular passenger boats) that travel up the Yangtze fromYichangthrough theThree Gorgesand into the neighboringChongqingmunicipality.
Themountains of western Hubei, in particular inShennongjiaDistrict, offer a welcome respite from Wuhan's and Yichang's summer heat, as well as skiing opportunities in winter. The tourist facilities in that area concentrate aroundMuyuin the southern part ofShennongjia, the gateway to Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (神农架国家自然保护区). Closer to the provincial capital, Wuhan, is theMount Jiugong(Jiugongshan) national park, inTongshan Countynear the border withJiangxi.
A particular important site of both natural and cultural significance isMount Wudang(Wudangshan) in the northwest of the province. Originally created early in theMing dynasty, its building complex has been listed byUNESCOsince 1994 as aWorld Heritage Site.
Other historic attractions in Hubei include:
The province also has historical sites connected with China's more recent history, such as theWuchang UprisingMemorial in Wuhan,Project 131site (a Cultural-Revolution-era underground military command center) inXianning, and the National Mining Park (国家矿山公园) inHuangshi.
Professional sports teams in Hubei include:
Following a July 1979 State of Ohio Trade Mission to China, Hubei and Ohio formed a sister province-state relationship.The pairing was based on the fact that both Hubei and Ohio are located in national heartlands, are large industrial areas and transportation hubs, and have significant agricultural sectors.
In 2005, Hubei province signed a twinning agreement withTelemarkcounty of Norway, and a "Norway-Hubei Week" was held in 2007.