Wuhan is an amalgamation of three smaller cities?Hankou, Hanyang and Wuchang?each separated from the other by a river. Hankou is the business center and it sits to the northwest with the Chang (Yangtze) River separating it from Wuchang and the Han river separating it from Hanyang. Wuchang is the education center hosting a bewildering variety of universities, institutes and colleges. It is separated from both Hankou and Hanyang by the Yangtze River. Hanyang is the industrial center, home to dozens of pollution-spewing industries including the Citroen car company. It is separated from Hankou by the Han river and from Wuchang by the Yangtze River.
The Number One Yangtze River Bridge, an old, Soviet-era colossus of engineering incorporating both rail and automobile traffic in a dual-layer setup, connects Wuchang with Hanyang. The more graceful Number Two Changjiang River Bridge, currently only open to automobile traffic, connects Wuchang with Hankou to the north. There are two major bridges across the Han river shuttling automobile traffic between Hanyang and Hankou. These two bridges are within sight of each other on the few smog-free days that exist. The Number Three Yangtze River Bridge, connects the outskirts of Wuchang with the outskirts of Hanyang to the distant south.
Hanyang was a busy port as long as 3000 years ago in the Han Dynasty. Yellow Crane Tower was first built in 223BCE and became a famous buildings in China through the poetry of Cui Hao during the Tang Dynasty. Wuchang has been a center of learning for centuries, especially in the field of the arts. It became a provincial capital in the Yuan Dynasty.
During the 19th century, as a result of concessions granted in the aftermath of the Opium Wars, large areas of Hankou's riverfront were carved up into foreign mercantile divisions with port and rail facilities. There remain many grand buildings along Hankou's riverfront clearly European in design as a result. In 1911 the city was host to the Wuchang Uprising: Sun Yat-sen's revolution that resulted in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. (The event is commemorated in many place names beginning with "Shouyi"?literally "First Revolution"?including a public square with an attached museum.) In the ensuing chaos of the Republic of China, Wuchang was the capital of a leftist Guomindang government ruled over by Wang Jingwei in direct opposition to Chiang Kai-shek.
Beneath Wuhan's industrial exterior a rewarding tapestry of history and cultural arts awaits.
Arriving by air will likely have you winding up at the Tianhe Airport about an hour's ride out of town.
Wuhan is a major railway hub, connected by direct trains with most of China's major cities. Overnight express trans (Z series trains) take one to Beijing or Shanghai in 9 to 12 hours. There are also frequent train connections from Canton (Guangzhou) taking about 12 hours and a bit less frequent trains from Shenzhen.
There are two major passenger train stations in Hankou and Wuchang respectively which rarely share trains. This is in contrast to the two major long distance bus stations, again in Hankou and Wuchang respectively, which tend to have buses visiting both.
You can also reach Wuhan via boats on the Yangtse, either from downstream centers such as Shanghai and Nanjing or from Chongqing further upstream, via the famous Three Gorges route.
Note that this problem is strongly ameliorated during the daytime when there is a supervisor at the taxi stand who is an airport employee, not a taxi driver himself.
One oddity of the taxi system is crossing the bridges. Because of the traffic problems and snarls at the bridges, the city has instituted a system in which ''half the taxis are not permitted to cross the bridge on half the days''. Basically, if the day of the month is odd, odd-numbered taxis are allowed to use the Number One bridge. If the day of the month is even, even-numbered taxis are allowed to use the Number One bridge. This system may extend to the Number Two bridge (this is not yet confirmed) but it does not extend to the Number Three Bridge. In most circumstances, however, it is not advisable to use the Number Three bridge as it tends to increase the taxi fares dramatically (although it is an interesting ride).
Entering the park costs 50RMB 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.
Many of Wuhan's attractions - museums, parks, beaches, and even the aquarium - are located around the East Lake (Dong Hu) in Wuchang.
Wuhan's best (or at least biggest) book and map store is probably Chongwen Book City (Chongwen Shu Cheng). It occupies the 3rd floor of a huge building located in the Xiongchu Avenu (Xiongchu Dajie) near South Loushi St. (Loushi Nan Lu) - that's about a couple miles east of Wuchang train station. The place is huge - as big as any Borders or B&N in the US. Most books are categorized by topics, but there are also sections dedicated to specific publishers. Most books are of course in Chinese, but a foreign traveller may be interested in their map department is well stocked. Among other products, they carry a series of road atlases for most of China's provinces and autonomous regions, suitable for both drivers and bicyclists. There is also an internet cafe on the 4th floor.
Another big book shop is the Hubei Province Foreign Languages Book Shop (Wai wen shu dian, or some such - there is no English sign! - in Zhongnan Lu just north of Wulou Lu). The "foreign languages" in its name seems to refer mostly to the textbooks and dictionaries of foreign languages for the Chinese audience and the books translated into Chinese from foreign languages, but they carry some literature in English as well.
There are also a few large Xinhua bookstores throughout the city.