About Wuhan
What to see and do in Wuhan
Weather in Wuhan
Airport in Wuhan
Visa

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, and is the most populous city in central People's Republic of China. It lies at the east of Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the

Yangtze and Han River. Arising out of the conglomeration of three boroughs, Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, Wuhan is known as the "thoroughfare of nine provinces"; it is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city. The city of Wuhan, first termed as such in 1927, has a population of approximately 9,100,000 people (2006), with about 6,100,000 residents in its urban area. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek, now Wuhan is recognized as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational and transportation center of central China.

What to see and do in Wuhan

Yellow Crane Tower (Huanghelou)The single largest tourist attraction in Wuhan, the tower is a modern construction built on the site of five previous incarnations. It is considered one of the four great towers in China.

The tower sits atop Snake Hill near the Number One Chang (Yangtze) River Bridge and affords a commanding view of the Chang River as well as the mouth of the Han River where it connects. The view can be very impressive depending on local smog conditions. On the few clear days one can see practically the entire city of Wuhan as well as up and down the Chang River.

Entering the park costs RMB 50 which gives access to Snake Hill Park, Yellow Crane Tower and the Mao Pavilion (in which many of the poems of Chairman Mao are etched into stone for viewing pleasure). The park as a whole is nicely landscaped with many charming buildings. Of particular interest is the enormous bronze bell located behind Yellow Crane Tower itself as well as a teahouse on the premises which features regular performances of traditional Chu-era music. The performance itself is free, but it is expected that patrons enjoying it order at least a beverage or a small snack.

The tower itself is a modern building completed in the 1980s using modern materials - most notably, concrete is used instead of wood for all supporting members. It is sited where five previous Yellow Crane Towers have stood, each pervious one destroyed in war or disaster. The ground floor of the tower contains a large entrance hall, two storeys tall, with enormous decorative lamps and a giant ceramic fresco displaying the quasi-mythical story of the tower's initial construction. The second storey, essentially a balcony around the entrance hall, contains the usual souvenir shops as well as displays of traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphy. The third storey has a residence done up in the very ancient, Chu style modelled after the kinds of sitting rooms used by nobility greeting guests in the ancient period. The fourth storey contains a souvenir shop and a set of models displaying the tower in its five previous incarnations. This latter display shows the fascinating development of an essentially military watchtower into an increasingly residence/tourist-oriented showpiece. The top accessible storey has pay telescopes for the view (which are generally not useful in the smog which dominates Wuhan air) and some art displays.

Yellow Crane Tower (and, in fact, Snake Hill Park in general) is wheelchair- accessible in most areas of interest. The tower even has two elevators suited to the elderly and the handicapped who would otherwise not be able to climb the stairs to the top. Ramps around in most of the areas of interest.The Yellow Crane Tower offers visitors an abundance of things to see. The exhibit on each floor has a theme, for example, the theme of the first floor is about legend. On the wall, there is a nine-meter (about 30 feet) long and six-meter (about 20 feet) wide painted porcelain picture which depicts clouds, rivers and cranes to represent a romantic mood in the heaven. The third floor mainly shows poems written to praise the tower in different dynasties. On top of the tower, visitors are treated to a fabulous panoramic view of the Yangtze River, its bridge and the surrounding buildings in Wuhan City. Outside the tower, there are bronze yellow cranes, memorial gateways and pavilions.

As one of the most famous and spectacular Towers in China the Yellow Crane Tower is a must to visit. Originally built in 223 A.D during the Three Kingdoms Period as a Wu Kingdom military tower. The tower has been destructed several times and is today placed one kilometre (0,6 mile) from its original site.

The tower is today 52 metres high with five stores and the architecture of the existing tower is from the Qing Dynasty and it was completed first in 1985. Placed on the top of Snake Hill you have a 360 degree view from

the top of the tower over Wuhan and a magnificent view northwards over thegreat Yangtse (Chanjiang) River. On the first floor you find a description that made the tower well known throughout China, written by Cui Hao, a famous poet of Tang dynasty (618-907). The tower has fascinated poets through the centuries, only in the Qing dynasty, as many as 300 poems were written about the tower.

Admission Fee:    RMB 50
Bus Route:    411, 1
Tourist Bus Route:    1
Guiyuan Temple

Hubei Provincial Museum

Uprising Plaza

Moshan Hill

Wuhan Zoo

Jiqing Street, an ordinary-seeming street by day, becomes transformed by night into a bewildering maze of streetside restaurants and buskers performing music, dance, opera and stand-up comedy. It is a strongly-recommended experience. Food is plentiful and cheap, and it features a lot of unique local cuisine. The performances can be enjoyed by proxy as performers work other tables or they can be purchased. One can expect to pay about RMB 10 per song performed. Other performances are more based on contributions'the more you contribute, the longer the performers will do their routines and the more daring/interesting/funny the routines will be.

Jianghan Road by night.
Also of potential interest to a visitor is Jianghan Road in Hankou, a pedestrian mall almost as long as Shanghai's famed East Nanjing Road. During the day it is an interesting look at rampant consumerism in China's rapidly-growing middle class. At night, starting at 7PM, it is the same but is expanded on each side a few blocks deep by a night market with literally thousands of little stalls hawking every variety of goods imaginable: makeup, souvenirs, clothing, housewares, food, music, movies, etc.

Many of Wuhan's attractions - museums, parks, beaches, and even the aquarium - are located around the East Lake (Dong Hu) in Wuchang.

Guiyuan Buddist Temple ( Temple of Original Purity ) Covering an area of about 46,900 square meters (approx. 55,812 square yards), Guiyuan Buddhist Temple is situated in the west section of Hanyang district in Wuhan City. Being one of the four best temples in Wuhan, the temple, which was originally established in 1658 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was initially built on the site of Wuzhangpu Kuiyuan in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The word 'Guiyuan' originates from a sutra, meaning to surpass the circumscription of existence and extinguishment, to return to purity and tranquility.

Admission Fee:
RMB 10
RMB 20 (during the Spring Festival, May Holiday and October Holiday)

Chairman Mao Zedong's Villa
The famous villa of Chairman Mao Zedong in Wuhan is strategically located at the scenic bank of East Lake of Wuchang, which consists of Meiling Buildings One, Two and Three. It was once a retreat house for Chairman Mao and other privileged ruling members of the Politburo. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Mao in a letter nicknamed it 'Home of the White Clouds and Yellow Cranes' where he enjoyed the quiet ambiance and great relief it offered. The attractive scenery of tree-lined footpath, dense grove, flying songbirds, and Chairman Mao's favourite pines, bamboo trees and plums seen everywhere can undoubtedly, make one reluctant to leave

Meiling Building Three houses Mao's private indoor swimming pool. It is about 30-meter long and six lanes wide, the same as most competition-sized pools. It is lined with tiles with stainless steel ladders, and underwater lights. There are nine floor-to-ceiling tinted windows, which Mao could see through during his daily swims.

Meiling was open to the public in the early 1993, and has received numerous travellers, both local tourists and foreigners. It is now a very hot tourist spot where many could recall Chairman Mao's experiences of his late years and get glimpses of the great leader's historical and colourful life.

Admission Fee: RMB 20

Heptachord Terrace (Guqin Tai)

Heptachord Terrace, or Guqin Tai to give it its Chinese name, is located in the north of the Hanyang District of Wuhan City, Hubei Province. It is situated at the west of Tortoise Hill and on the bank of the Moon Lake.

The terrace is a reminder of the legend of Yu Boya, who was a famous official who lived in the Jin State during the the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C. - 476B.C.), and was an expert heptachord player. One day, Yu Boya played two pieces of music on his way home by boat from an official visit to the Chu State. One was a composition called 'High Mountain' and the other 'Flowing Water'. To Yu Boya's amazement Zhong Ziqi, a woodcutter, understood and appreciated his music. Yu Boya admired Zhong Ziqi's musical attainment and after a long conversation they became bosom friends. Since Yu Boya had to return to his state, they agreed to meet again in the coming year. Unfortunately, Yu Boya found that his friend had died from a disease before their planned meeting could take place and understandably he was deeply grieved upon hearing the sad news. Upon setting up an altar near his friend's grave and burning incense there, he played 'High Mountain' and 'Flowing Water' once again. The emotion of the music was so strong that it was as if the rivers and the mountains were crying. When he had finished playing, the distraught musician broke his heptachord to pieces. From then on, Yu Boya never played again.

Admission Fee: RMB 10
Bus Route: 5, 6, 13, 42, 524

Natural Sites

Wuhan presents charming scenery for nature lovers. The scenic East Lake area is top on all travel plans for its fascinating lake scenery, charming plum gardens and bamboo forest. Gui Shan (Tortoise Hill), Mo Hill and Qingchuan Pavilion are also worth of visiting.

Natural Sites

Modern Charm

Modern architecture vies for interest with historic sites. The bund area in Hankou, the famous waterfront along the Han River is a bustling commercial section with colonial style architecture, bars and pubs. At night this is the hub of Wuhan nightlife. Two other shopping streets in Zhongshan Dadao and Jiefang Dadao are also popular.

Yangtze River Bridge, known as Wuhan Changjiang Daqiao, is the first highway- railway bridge over the Yangtze River. It has two levels ' the upper one for bus transit and the lower for trains. From the bridge, you can see the rolling water run to the east with ships coming and going.

Museums

Travelers interested in China's brilliant historical civilization should not miss Hubei Provincial Museum with its collection of more than 200,000 artifacts excavated from ancient tombs. Among them, the bronze bells are most attractive.

Another popular museum is the National Stone Museum, famed for its collection of various rare stones. To admire the enchanting unique stones, some 1,300 pieces of stone in the National Stone Museum will virtually broaden your mind.

Weather in Wuhan

Although the temperature in Wuhan's winter is not as low as those in the northern cities in China, the river winds and humidity can make it as cold as - 10 C, and some travelers suffer from chilblains. Moreover, many hotels and guesthouses in Wuhan do not have heaters. For winter travel, bring heavy overcoats, gloves and scarves to protect against the wind and cold.

January 7 C to -1 C

February 8 C to 1 C

March 14 C to 5 C

April 20 C to 11 C

May 25 C to 17 C

June 29 C to 21 C

July 32 C to 25 C

August 32 C to 24 C

September 27 C to 19 C

October 22 C to 13 C

November 16 C to 7 C

December 9 C to 1 C

Airport in Wuhan

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (pinyin: Wuh'n Tianh' Gu'j' Jichang) (IATA: WUH, ICAO: ZHHH) serves Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China. It was opened on April 15, 1995. The airport is located around 26 kilometres to the north of Wuhan city center and is the busiest airport of central China as it is geographically located in the center of China's airline route network. In 2007, the airport handled 8,356,340 passengers, ranking 12th in China.

Having registered 9,202,629 passengers in 2008, the airport has become 12th busiest airport by passenger traffic in China.

International and Domestic Flights There are more than 150 domestic and international lines connecting Wuhan with over sixty metropolises inside China and abroad. Currently Wuhan has five direct international lines to Osaka, Fukuoka, Seoul, Bangkok, and Singapore. Another line sponsored by China Southern Airlines is from Wuhan to Guangzhou and on to Paris.

Airport
A 20-kilometer speedway drive from the Tianhe International Airport (WUH) to the city center takes only twenty minutes. Airport shuttle buses leave for the city following flight arrivals. From the airport to Hankou, the bus will charge RMB 15 per person, 20 for Hanyang, and 30 for Wuchang; a taxi drive to the city area is about RMB 80 - RMB 120.

Enquiry
Airport Enquiry: 0086-027-8581 8888 Southern Airlines Enquiry: 0086-027-8530 0000 Eastern Airlines Enquiry: 0086-027-6362 3820

Tickets
Within China, air tickets can be booked in advance in hotels, guesthouses, and ticket agencies in the city. Tickets are also available after working hours at the counter in the departure hall in the airport Waiting Building.

Ticket Offices:
Air China: 027-83786780
Southwest Branch of Air China: 027-83619392
Wuhan Tianhe Airport: 027-83666666 (tickets can be delivered to your hotel room)
Waiting Building of Tianhe Airport: 027- 85818888
Hankou Financial Steet: 027- 85719338 (at No. 901, Jianshe Dadao, Hankou)

Airport Transport

Airport Bus
Luxury buses leave for the airport from Jin Jia Dun Distance Bus Passenger Station (opposite Hankou Railway Station) every hour. Airport buses and taxis are also available outside the Arrival Hall in the Waiting Building at the airport.

Bus Routes:

To the airport:
Fu Jia Po Distance Bus Passenger Station in Wuchang --> Wuchang Railway Station --> Waiting Building of Tianhe Airport in Hankou --> Hankou Civil Aviation Resident Area --> Waiting Building of Tianhe Airport

Buses leave from Fu Jia Po Distance Bus Passenger Station in Wuchang every hour from 7:40 to 19:10. Buses leave from the Waiting Building in Hankou from early 6:30 to 19:50 every hour and buses leave from Hankou Civil Aviation Resident Area between 6:40 to 20:00 every hour.

From the airport
Waiting Building of Tianhe Airport --> Hankou Civil Aviation Resident Area -->
Waiting Building of Tianhe Airport in Hankou --> Jing Han Dadao in Hankou -->
Yangtze River Square in Hanyang --> Fu Jia Po Distance Bus Passenger Station in Wuchang

Airport shuttle buses leave for the city following flight arrivals.

Ticket prices:
Airport <--> Hanykou 15 RMB/p.p
Airport <--> Wuchang 30 RMB/p.p
Airport <--> Hanyang 20 RMB/p.p

Visa

To be able to travel to Wuhan you need to have a valid China Visa, issue from your local government at the China Embassy, Chinese visa fall into four types: diplomatic visa, courtesy visa, service visa and ordinary visa. Ordinary visa is further divided into the following 8 categories each marked with a letter: (1) Tourist and family visit visa (L-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China for tourist purpose, family visit or other personal affairs.

(2) Business Visa (F-visa ) is issued to a foreign citizen who is invited to China for visit, research, lecture, business, exchanges in the fields of science, technology, education, culture and sports, or attending various kinds of trade fairs or exhibitions, or short-term study, intern practice for a period of no more than 6 months.

(3) Student Visa (X-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China for the purpose of study or advanced study for a period of six or more months.

(4) Work Visa (Z-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China to work and his or her accompanying family members, or to give commercial performances in China.

(5) Transit Visa (G-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who is to transit through China on his or her way to a third country (or region).

(6) Crew Visa(C-visa)is issued to crew member performing his/her duties on board an international train, or on an international airliner, to a sailor on board an international ocean-liner or freighter, and also to their accompanying family members..

(7) Journalist Visa (J-visa)is issued to foreign journalists. J-visa has two categories: J-1 visa and J-2 visa. J-1 visa is issued to resident foreign journalists in China and their accompanying spouses and under-age children, J-2 visa to foreign journalists who visit China for temporary news coverage.

(8) Permanent Residence Visa(D-visa)is issued to a foreign citizen who has been approved by China's public security authority to reside in China permanently.

for Language guide please refer to: http://www.china-city-guide.com/beijing/pages/localguide.php for free download of basic survival Chinese conversation in China.