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Wuhan is a major industrial city in central [[China]] and the capital of [[Hubei]] province, with a population of 9.1 millions. Lying at the confluence of the [[Yangtse]] (Changjiang) and Han rivers, is is a triple city, comprising the formerly discrete cities of Hankou ([[Wade-Gile]]: Hankow), Hanyang and Wuchang.

'''Wuhan''' is a major industrial city in central [[China]] and the capital of [[Hubei]] province, with a population of 9.1 millions. Lying at the confluence of the [[Yangtse]] (Changjiang) and Han rivers, is is a triple city, comprising the formerly discrete cities of Hankou ([[Wade-Gile]]: Hankow), Hanyang and Wuchang.

==== History ====

==== History ====

Urban development began during the [[Han]] dynasty (roughly contemporary with the [[Roman Empire]]), and Hanyang and Wuchang were walled c. 206-223 AD. During the [[Taiping Rebellion]] fighting between Taiping and Imperial forces ebbed and flowed several times across the Wuhan region. The triple city achieved further strategic significance when the Belgian-financed Beihan ([[Beijing]]-Hankou) railway was opened as part of a trunk line linking Beijing to [[Guangzhou]] (Canton). In 1927 BNationalist ({[[Kuomintang]]) forces occupied Wuhan in the course of the [[Northern Expedition]] of 1926-28. Nationalist crowds thereupon overwhelmed barricades erected by Western forces and occupied the former foreign cioncessions in Hankou (and also at Jiujiang, downriver of Wuhan). This was the first occasion on which settlements had been recovered, and the ''fait accompli'' was later accepted by the powers. In the late summer and autumn of 1927 Wuhan was the centre of a short-lived Left-Kuomintang govenment headed by [[Wang Jingwei]] and [[Song Qingling]] (Madame [[Sun Yat-sen]]) following [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s {{Shanghia Coup]]in which he had turned on and massacred his erstwhile [[Communist]] allies. Wuhan briefly served as temporary capital of the [[Republic of China]] following the Japanese invasion in 1937 and occupation of [[Nanjing]]. Wuhan was in turn occupied by Japan and the Chinese capital removed further inland, to [[Chongqing]] (Chungking). In 1957 a 1.6 km long road and rail bridge was opened across the Yangtse at Wuhan. A second bridge was opened in 1995 and a third in 2000.

Urban development began during the [[Han]] dynasty (roughly contemporary with the [[Roman Empire]]), and Hanyang and Wuchang were walled c. 206-223 AD. During the [[Taiping Rebellion]] fighting between Taiping and Imperial forces ebbed and flowed several times across the Wuhan region. The triple city achieved further strategic significance when the Belgian-financed Beihan ([[Beijing]]-Hankou) railway was opened as part of a trunk line linking Beijing to [[Guangzhou]] (Canton). In 1927 Nationalist ({[[Kuomintang]]) forces occupied Wuhan in the course of the [[Northern Expedition]] of 1926-28. Nationalist crowds thereupon overwhelmed barricades erected by Western forces and occupied the former foreign cioncessions in Hankou (and also at Jiujiang, downriver of Wuhan). This was the first occasion on which settlements had been recovered, and the ''fait accompli'' was later accepted by the powers. In the late summer and autumn of 1927 Wuhan was the centre of a short-lived Left-Kuomintang govenment headed by [[Wang Jingwei]] and [[Song Qingling]] (Madame [[Sun Yat-sen]]) following [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s [[Shanghai Coup]] in which he had turned on and massacred his erstwhile [[Communist]] allies. Wuhan briefly served as temporary capital of the [[Republic of China]] following the Japanese invasion in 1937 and occupation of [[Nanjing]]. Wuhan was in turn occupied by Japan and the Chinese capital removed further inland, to [[Chongqing]] (Chungking). In 1957 a 1.6 km long road and rail bridge was opened across the Yangtse at Wuhan. A second bridge was opened in 1995 and a third in 2000.

The modern economy of Wuhan was based on iron and steel production

The modern economy of Wuhan was based on iron and [[steel]] production

Wuhan has numerous twin cities, including [[manchester]] and [[Pittsburgh]]

Wuhan has numerous twin cities, including [[Manchester]] and [[Pittsburgh]]

 

[[Category:China]]