Hubei

HUBEI PROVINCE

Hubei, abbreviated to "E", lies to the north of the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake, covering over 180,000 square kilometers, with a population of 57,300,000. Wuhan City is the capital. Hubei borders Anhui in the east, Hunan and Jiangxi to the south, Sichuan in the west, and Shaanxi and Henan in the north. Two rivers, the Yangtze and Hanshui meet in Wuhan and thousands of lakes are scattered about, so Hubei enjoys another beautiful name: "Province of Lakes".

Lying in the sub-tropic zone, Hubei sees its four seasons changing clearly. The average temperature is 0 degrees Centigrade in winter and 30 C. in summer.

The Chu Culture originated in Hubei, one of the main Chinese cultural schools, arising from the ancient Kingdom of Chu. This traditional culture mixed with modern civilization makes Hubei rich in tourism resources. The famous attractions include Mounts of Wudang and Jiugong , Three Gorges (Shanxia), and Jingzhou City.

Hubei plays an important role in China's transportation. Situated on the Yangtze and Hanshui Rivers, the natural golden waterways, Hubei enjoys the convenience of railways linking Beijing to Guangzhou, Beijing to Kowloon, Shanghai to Wuhan, Wuhan to Chengdu, and Zhicheng to Liuzhou, and from the airports in Wuhan, Yichang, Sanxia, Xiangfan, Shashi. National and provincial highways also aid in Hubei's economic development.

Hubei is famous for its plentiful products and is called a "Hometown for Fish and Rice". Famous agricultural products in Hubei include cotton, rice, wheat, tea, etc. while the industry majors in metallurgy, machinery, power generation, textils, foodstuff and high-tech commodities