Hubei

 

Tourism

Hubei is home to the ancient state of Chu, a local state during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty that developed its own unique culture. Chu culture mixed with other influences, ancient and modern, endows Hubei richly with tourist resources. Famous attractions include:

In 1994, the ancient building complex of the Wudang Mountains was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The province also has historical sites connected with China's more recent history, such as the Wuchang Uprising Memorial in Wuhan.

Numerous tourist boats (as well as regular passenger boats) travel up the Yangtze from Yichang through the Three Gorges area and into the neighboring Chongqing municipality.

 

Hubei cuisine (鄂菜 or 湖北菜) emphasizes on how carefully the material is cut, and how the color matches, and specializing in steaming. Hubei cuisine comprises three distinct styles:

 

Re gan mian

 

Hubei

Excerpts from Wikipedia.org

Hubei (湖北) is a central province of the People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is 鄂, an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin Dynasty. The name Hubei means "north of the lake", referring to Hubei's position north of Lake Dongting. The capital of Hubei is Wuhan.

Hubei borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, and Shaanxi to the northwest. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located in Yichang, in western Hubei.

A popular unofficial name for Hubei is Chu (楚), after the powerful state of Chu that existed here during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

 

Geography

The Jianghan Plain takes up most of central and eastern Hubei, while the west and the peripheries are more mountainous, with ranges such as the Wudang Mountains, the Jingshan Mountains, the Daba Mountains, and the Wushan Mountains (in rough north-to-south order). The Dabie Mountains lie to the northeast of the Janghan Plain, on the border with Henan and Anhui; the Tongbai Mountains lie to the north on the border with Henan; to the southeast, the Mufu Mountains form the border with Jiangxi. The highest peak in Hubei is Shennong Peak, found in the Daba Mountains and in the forestry area of Shennongjia; it has an altitude of 3105 m.

The two major river of Hubei are the Yangtze and its left tributary Hanshui; they give their name to the Jianghan Plain. The Yangtze River enters Hubei from the west via the Three Gorges; the eastern half of the Three Gorges (Xiling Gorge and part of Wu Gorge) lies in western Hubei, while the western half is in neighbouring Chongqing. The Hanshui enters the province from the northwest. After crossing most of the province, the two great rivers meet at Wuhan, the provincial capital.

Thousands of lakes dot the landscape of Hubei's Jianghan Plain, giving Hubei the name of: "Province of Lakes"; the largest of these lakes are Lake Liangzi and Lake Honghu.

Hubei has a subtropical climate with distinct seasons.

Besides the capital Wuhan, other important cities are Jingmen; Shiyan, the center of automotive industry and the gateway to Wudangshan; Yichang, the main base for the gigantic hydroelectric projects of southwestern Hubei; and Shashi.

 

Economy

Hubei is often called the "Land of Fish and Rice" (鱼米之乡). Important agricultural products in Hubei include cotton, rice, wheat, and tea, while industries include automobiles, metallurgy, machinery, power generation, textiles, foodstuffs and high-tech commodities.

Mineral resources that can be found in Hubei in significant quantities include borax, hongshiite, wollastonite, garnet, marlstone, iron, phosphorus, copper, gypsum, rutile, rock salt, gold amalgam, manganese and vanadium. The province's recoverable reserves of coal stand at 548 million tons, which is modest compared to other Chinese provinces. Hubei is also well known for its mines of fine turquoise and green faustite.

 

Culture

People in Hubei speak Mandarin dialects; most of these dialects are classified as Southwestern Mandarin dialects, a group that also encompasses the Mandarin dialects of most of southwestern China.

The people of Hubei are given the uncomplimentary nickname "Nine Headed Birds" by other Chinese, from a mythological creature said to be very aggressive and hard to kill. "In the sky live nine-headed birds. On the earth live Hubei people." (天上九頭鳥，地上湖北佬).

The nine-headed bird is one of the earliest forms of the Chinese phoenix, worshiped by ancient natives in Hubei Province, which during the Warring State Period was part of the kingdom of Chu (楚). The nine-headed bird was also called the "Nine Phoenix" (九鳳), which together with the Chinese dragon, were two of the most vastly worshiped divine/mythical creatures throughout Chinese history.

The number nine was thought to possess mysterious power in Chinese culture. The nine-headed bird was, and still is believed to be a symbol of wisdom and good fortune.

 

Demographics

Han Chinese form the dominant ethnic group in Hubei. A considerable Miao and Tujia population live in the southwestern part of the province, especially in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.

On October 18th, 2009, Chinese officials began to relocate 330,000 residents from the Hubei and Henan provinces that will be effected by the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the Han river. The reservoir is part of the larger South-North Water Transfer Project.