Wuhan is located in the east of Jianghan Plain and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River and its largest tributary, the Hanjiang River, meet in this city, forming a pattern that three towns in Wuhan (Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang) are separated by rivers. There are rivers, lakes and ports in the city, and the water area accounts for a quarter of the city's total area. As the economic and geographical center of China, Wuhan is known as the thoroughfare of nine provinces, the largest land, sea and air transportation hub in China and the shipping center in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Its high-speed rail network radiates more than half of China, and it is the only city in central China that can fly directly to five continents.
Wuhan is a national historical and cultural city and an important birthplace of Chu culture. The site of Panlongcheng in China has a history of 3,500 years. Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Wuhan has been an important military and commercial center in southern China, and in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it became "the first prosperous place of Chu State" and one of the four major places in the world. The opening of Hankou Port and Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty started the modernization process of Wuhan, making it an important economic center in modern China and known as "Oriental Chicago". Wuhan, the birthplace of the Revolution of 1911, became the national political, military and cultural center several times in modern history.