Hubei
Hubei (湖北) is a province in the southern central region of China.
Regions
Cities
- Wuhan - the capital - Spread across the Han and Yangtse Rivers
- Huanggang
- Jingmen
- Jingzhou
- Shiyan
- Xiangfan
- Xiaogan
- Yichang - Location of the world's largest dam, the Three Gorges Dam.
Other destinations
- Wudang Mountains Birthplace of Taichi and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Site of Tangya Tusi Domain, one of three Tusi sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Understand
Hubei is a Central Chinese province. The name is derived from 'Hu' meaning lake and 'Bei' meaning North.
It is the home of many battles from the Three Kingdoms "San Guo" period of Chinese history. Many cities still retain parts of the history of this time, such as Jingzhou which boasts a wonderfully intact city wall dating back to this time.
Hubei is also home of Yichang, site of the world famous Three Gorges Dam "San Xia Da Ba" project, which is the world's largest hydro-electric dam. This damn has effectively dammed the mighty Yangtse River "Chang Jiang".
The capital city of Hubei is Wuhan, a sprawling city made up of three separate cities separated by the Yangtse and Han rivers. Wuhan gains its name from the name of the three major parts of the city, Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou.
Wuchang is known as the educational capital of China boasting a myriad of different Universities and Colleges. Wuchang also has a high concentration of government offices and facilities.
Hankou is famous for its commercial and shopping districts with areas such as Jianghan Rd and Jiefang Rd being the most popular places to go for shopping.
Hanyang is the industrial heart of Wuhan boasting many heavy industries including car and steel manufacture.
Wuhan is one of the notorious '3 furnaces' of China, however it easily out-steams it's rivals Nanjing and Chongqing. During a typical summer temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius and humidity rarely drops below 80%. It is because of this weather that the Chinese people believe the local population have gained their fiery reputation of being loud and easily riled up. In winter temperatures drop below 0 degrees Celsius and a few of inches of snow is not uncommon occurrence.
The locals are known as "Jiu Tou Nao" or "nine headed bird" due to their talent for bending the truth. The moniker is both a source of pride and embarrassment.
Wuhan is one of the largest cities in China, however it is still developing, quite slowly, in comparison with the major centres such as Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen.
Talk
The population of Hubei (like all of China) has been taught to speak standard Chinese "Putong Hua" for many years now and the ability to speak Mandarin will help you immensely.
However, like many places throughout China, many cities have developed their own particular dialect such as the capital city of Hubei's "Wuhan Hua". Many Chinese people do not like the accent of the Wuhan locals as they say it comes across as very unelegant and rude however this is purely a matter of opinion.
Hubei also has members of many minority groups, in particular the Uighers of Xinjiang, who speak a language known as Uigher that is distantly related to Turkish.
Wuhan has strong foreign investment from France and Germany, with corresponding expatriates from these countries living here.
Get in
You can fly into Wuhan Tianhe Airport from most major cities in China and from some international locations. There is also a smaller airport in Yichang.
You can also catch a bus or a train from many of the cities in China quite easily thanks to Wuhan's central location.
One of the better ways to get into Hubei is to cruise along the Yangtse River, either from Chongqing further West (passing through the Three Gorges Dam and it's massive 5-stage ship lock) or from the East.
Get around
Getting around in Hubei is fairly easy. Buses go to most cities or at least through them, just let the driver know where to stop. The same goes for getting on the bus, just put out your thumb and a bus will stop for you and tell you how much it costs to go where you want to go.
Hubei also has a decent train network, like the rest of China, however it won't go to quite so many places as the buses and often it is very busy.
Within Wuhan and many other cities in Hubei, bus is the best way to travel. The average fare is ¥1 for non-air conditioned/heated and ¥2 for air-conditioner/heater. Given the amount of people on buses and the fact that someone will always have a window open, often it is best just to save the extra ¥1 and go the cheap option.
Taxis are also relatively inexpensive. Flagfall is ¥6 for the first 1.5km
See
The Yangtze River crosses through the region, offering beautiful cruise options, but the scenery past Wuhan is not as great as in the neighbouring provinces of Sichuan and Chongqing
The main tourist attractions and sights in Hubei are located along the Yangtse River.
You can see the famous Ghost City of Feng Du with it's temples and statues, the Three Gorges Dam and it's 5-Stage Ship Lock in Yichang, the impressive city wall of Jingzhou, and the famous Yellow Crane Tower "Huang He Lou" and East Lake "Dong Hu" of Wuhan.
Do
Eat
Being in the center of China, Hubei boasts a variety of gourmet delights from every corner of the Chinese nation. Whether it is the delicious kebabs or hand-pulled noodles "la mian" of Xinjiang in the West, the addictive pork and spring onion dumplings "jiao zi" of the North, the farmed sweet and sour "tang su" of the South or the myriad of seafood dishes of the East there is something to please everyone.
Like most food to be found in Central/Western China, the food of Hubei is liberally laden with chilli, exciting the taste buds of more adventurous gourmands. All of the famous Chinese exotic foods can be found in Hubei, ranging from dog and cat, to snail and frog, to pig's blood and cow's stomach all the way through to BBQ scorpion kebabs.
Hubei is also famed for it's lotus root "ou" dishes, which you can get in a variety of forms from soups to french fried. The capital city, Wuhan, also has a famous noodle dish by the name of Hot and Dry Noodles "re gan mian". This interesting dish combines the dryness of sesame paste with the heat of chillis and pickled vegetables. Generally a breakfast staple, hot and dry noodles can be found being cooked on every street of Wuhan and for around ¥1.70 it is an absolute bargain.
As has been the growing trend in China there has also been a growth in 'Western' style restaurants. You can go and eat at a Brazil BBQ restaurant, Italian, Portuguese and French restaurants, as well as the omnipresent American fast food outlets such as Pizza Hut, KFC and McDonalds.
Drink
Hubei generally consumes the same style of beverages as the rest of China. Tea and hot water being the most popular, followed by soft drinks, beer and "bai jiu".
One of the highlights of Hubei is the local beer, going by the name of 'Snow' which generally comes in 500mL bottles and can be chilled. The going rate for a bottle is ¥2.50 with a ¥0.5 refund when you return the bottle.
The most abundant by far are the famous Chinese 'discos' and 'KTV' bars which charge drinks at a minimum of a 500% markup and often times exceed 1000%. There are a small amount of 'foreign bars', generally also expensive but with an environment which is catered more to foreign tastes.
In Wuhan itself there is the local institution 'Vox Bar' which is easily the cheapest and most diverse bar in the province, with beer starting from ¥5 and hosting a variety of different live bands ranging from Beijing heavy metal to Xinjiang folk music. The patrons of Vox come from every corner of the world as well as of course the local Chinese.
Stay safe
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