Wuhan

River port and capital of Hubei province, central China, at the confluence of the Han and Chang Jiang rivers; population (2000) 6,787,500. It was formed in 1950 as one of China's greatest industrial areas by the amalgamation of Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang, and by the late 20th century, with the advantage of large nearby reserves of coal and iron ore, it had become, after Anshan, the second largest metallurgical centre in China. Iron, steel, heavy machine tools, railway rolling stock, lorries, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, including fibre optic cables, textiles, cement, fertilizers, and consumer goods including food and drinks, bicycles, watches, and radios are manufactured.

Wuhan was a centre of unrest in both the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) and the 1911 Chinese Revolution. In 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, there was an uprising here against Mao Zedong.