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General Introduction
Hubei,
a province in central China and the middle reaches
of the Yangtze River, has so many lakes that
it has acquired the nickname, 'Province of a
Thousand Lakes'. During the Spring and Autumn
and Warring States periods, Hubei was the territory
of the State of Chu. Literature represented
by the Songs of the South compiled by the patriotic
poet Qu Yuan, and music composed for bell chimes
unearthed from the tomb of Marquis of Zeng in
1978, are epitomes of the famed culture associated
with the ancient state of Chu. During the Three
Kingdoms. Period (220-280) Hubei became a major
battlefield among warring strategists, major
battles including the Battle of Yiling and the
Battle of Chibi. During the Tang and Song (618-1279),
part of Hubei fell under the jurisdiction of
Ezhou Prefecture.
Climate
Hubei
has a sub-tropical monsoonal climate, with distinct
contrast between the eastern plain and the western
mountain area. It has a mean annual temperature
of 15oC.-17oC. and sticky weather in the height
of summer. With its absolute maximum temperature
exceeding 40℃., Wuhan is one of the hottest
places in China. The mean annual precipitation
increases from 800 mm. in the northwest to 1,500
mm. or more in the southeast.
Topography
With
mountains in the west, north and east and low,
humid plains in the central south, Hubei is
like a basin of a slightly irregular shape which
can be divided into four topographical zones:
1) The Jianghan Plain in the central south forms
part of the Lianghu Plain together with the
Dongting Lake Plain of Hunan Province. Low and
flat and crisscrossed by rivers and lakes, it
is the major farming area of the province. 2)
The Western Hubei Mountain Area includes the
Wudang, Jingshan, Daba and Wushan mountains.
Its main peak, the 3,053-metre Dashennongjia,
is the highest peak in central China. A primeval
forest area known as the "green treasure-house",
it teems with animal and plant life. The spectacular
Three Gorges, formed as the Yangtze River cuts
through the Wushan Mountains, offer wide prospects
for hydroelectric power and are the key water
transport artery to Sichuan. Under construction
here is the gigantic Gezhouba key water conservancy
project. 3) The Northeastern Hubei Hilly Area
on the Hubei-Henan-Anhui border consists mainly
of the Tongbai and Dabie ranges and is the watershed
of the Huaihe and Changjiang rivers. 4) The
Southeastern Hubei Hilly Area includes the northern
sloping foothills of the Mufu Mountains.
There
are more than 1,000 rivers in Hubei. The Changjiang
River serves as the backbone into which its
tributaries flow from two directions to form
the single Yantze River, system. The section
of the Yangtze from Zhijiang to Chenglingji,
known as the Jingjiang River, follows a zigzag
course. The Hanshui is the longest tributary
of the Yangtze River. Hubei has more lakes than
any other province with most of them in the
Jianghan Plain. The best-known lakes are Honghu,
Liangzi and Changhu.
SCENES
& SIGHTS
Wuhan
The
Yangtze and Hanshui rivers converge at Hubei
Province's capital, Wuhan, a tripartite city
consisting of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang, and
a major waterway, highway and airway transportation
centre lauded as "Thoroughfare of nine
Provinces". Traditional scenic spots mingle
with newly built ones in the city, which include
Yellow Crane Tower, East Lake, Hubei Museum,
Guiyuan Temple, Wuhan Yangtze Bridge, Ancient
Zither Terrace, and the former site of the military
government of the Revolution of 1919.
Built in 223, Yellow Crane Tower is a famous
south China tower where Li Bai, Cui Jing and
other celebrated poets have left a wealth of
literary creations. The tower's 51.4-metre-high
five-storeyed structure with flying eaves was
rebuilt in 1985, which provides a panoramic
view of the city of Wuhan with the Yangtze Bridge
sitting astride the mighty river that flows
right cross the city. The 33-square-km East
Lake in the eastern suburb of Wuchang is 6 times
as large as West Lake of Hangzhou. The lake
looks lovable with its bank camouflaged under
a mantle of green trees and graced with pavilions
and terraces.
Hubei Museum is in the possession of nearly
200,000 cultural treasures, most of them associated
with local history and revolution. The better
known of them include a group of Warring States
bell chimes and the sword of Guo Jian, the king
of the state of Yue. Concerts of bronze bell
chimes and stone chimes are perennial shows
in the museum's Bell Chimes Gallery.
Cruise
on Three Gorges
The
three gorges of Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling form
one of the world's largest canyons which spans
west Hubei and east Chongqing for a 193-km stretch
from Fengjie, Chongqing, to Yichang, Hubei.
Here, theYangtze cuts a ferocious course through
mountains whose dangerous images are disguised
in graceful forms. A foggy, rainy weather combines
with the heroic shape of the Qutang Gorge, the
elegance of the Wuxia Gorghe, and the stupendous
Xiling Gorge to form a dainty landscape, and
endow the place with the best scenery anywhere
in the world. Among the sites of historical
interest on the Three Gorges are Sanyou Cave,
Huangling Temple, Xiangxi River, Jiuyuan River,
Qu Yuan's Temple, Shennong River, Lesser Three
Gorges of Wushan Mountain, Ghost City at Fengdu,
Shibao Village, and Baidi City of Fengjie. Visitors
also have the opportunity to see the well-known
Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project and the ongoing
construction of the Three Gorges Water Conservancy
Project. About 40 luxury cruises are shutting
on the Yangtze River; 20 of them wear star-rating
insignias based on the equipped facilities and
quality services offered. The Changjiang Tourist
Boat Company is based on Wuhan and Yichang,
and that is why Hubei is the best place for
a cruise on the Yangtze River.
Wilderness
of Shennongjia
Shennongjia
has all the mysterious quality of a jungle in
the eastern section of Daba Mountain in west
Hubei Province. Covering an area of 3,250 square
km that stretches north to Hanshui River and
south to the Yangtze, it is a natural habitat
of precious animals and plants, and it is said
that occasionally a wild man or two could be
spotted. A nice place for biotourists and nature
explorers, indeed.
Rafting
Shennong Stream
Shennong
Stream is a 60-km tributary which empties itself
into the Yangtze at a place 2,000 metres east
of the Wuxia Gorge estuary. The cliffs on both
banks squeeze the stream into a mere strip of
water 5 metres at the narrowest point. A 20-km
stretch of the river has been opened for rafting
expeditions. Visitors may travel up the river
for 9 km to Badong County and board tiny boats
in the style of local tujia people for a ride
through
a breathtaking landscape mystified by the quaint
peculiarities of local folklore. Coffins are
seen suspended on cliffs, made accessible on
occasions by plank ways, and the journey is
often enlivened by the emergence of monkeys,
Mongolia gazelles and other wild animals, ancient-looking
Tujia abodes, and boat-towing coolies.
Mount
Wudang Scenic Zone
Situated
in Danjiangkou, northwest Hubei, Mount Wudang
is one of the famous mountains in China. The
major peak, Tianzhu (Heavenly Pillar), stands
1,612 meters high, and within an area of 30
square km there are 72 peaks which make this
part of the world exceptionally beautiful. Mount
Wudang is also a famed Taoist sanctuary and
the cradle of the Wudang school of Chinese martial
arts. The mountain slopes used to be strung
with majestic Taoist buildings, and the 36 of
those still there were mostly built during the
Ming, forming the best-preserved and largest
cluster of ancient Taoist structures in the
county. The statues, religious instruments and
scriptures housed in these buildings are of
high cultural and artistic value. Mount Wudang
and its Taoist buildings have been listed as
world cultural heritage sites.
Ancient
City of Jingzhou
The
ancient city is enclosed in a 9.3-km-long city
wall in Jiangling District of Jingzhou. A famous
historical and cultural city today, Jingzhou
was part of the state of Chu during the Spring
and Autumn Period and a bone of contention between
warring strategists of various dynasties. That
is why the city boasts so many historical artifacts
and sites. In close proximity of Jingzhou is
the ancient city of Jinan, which had served
as capital of the state of Chu for 20 generations
in 400 years; today, the rammed-earth city wall
of the capital is still there, and large amounts
of cultural relics have been unearthed.
Jingzhou
Museum
The
museum, situated in Jiangling District in west
Jingzhou, is in the possession of 100,000 cultural
artifacts, including 100 or so national first-class
ones, and the museum has the largest collection
of ancient silk fabrics in China. Among the
other treasures are Neolithic jade carvings,
well-polished lacquer ware of Chu, precious
Chu and Han documents written on bamboo slips,
and mummified corpses dating back to Western
Han. To the delight of its visitors, the Jingzhou
Museum also stages concerts featuring bell chimes
and other ancient musical instruments.
Yichang
Situated
at the breakpoint of upper and middle reaches
of the Yangtze in west Hubei, Yichang is a major
tourist city with the splendid Three Gorges
up the river. The land of Yichang itself is
studded with tourist attractions, including
Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project in northwest
Yichang, Sanyou Cave, and the battlefield of
Yiling during the Three Kingdoms Period. The
famous Gezhouba Water Conservancy Project is
on the trunk section of the Yangtze in northwest
Yichang. Visitors also have the chance to see
Chinese sturgeons, an endangered species contemporised
with dinosaurs. A grownup sturgeon can grow
to 4 metres in length and 500 kg in weight.
Sailing upstream the river, one arrives in Zigui
county for a visit to the tomb of the great
poet Qu Yuan and the temple dedicated to him.
The birthplace of Wang Zhaojun, a Western Han
beauty, lies by the picturesque Xiangxi River,
where dragon-boat cruises are available.
Festivals
Wuhan
Plum Flower Festival. The event takes place
in February every year. The nation's plum flower
research center is in Wuhan, where large tracks
of land is devoted to a good variety of plum
trees with long blooming periods. Visitors to
the festival may also take part in a series
of tourist programs with the East Lake as the
center, to have a look at the culture of the
ancient state of Chu.
Central
China Tourist Exhibition. The exhibition, which
is held in march every year, is the most important
comprehensive travel trade fair for the entire
central China. Participants include travel services,
hotels, air companies, tourist bus and cruise
companies, scenic resorts, recreational centers,
and souvenir companies.
China
Jingzhou Dragon Boat Festival. The largest dragon
boat race in China takes place during the festival,
which is held on the 5th day of the 5th lunar
month every year. Other major events during
the festival: full-length folk-lore celebration
and folk art performances, an exhibition of
cultural artifacts dating back to the state
of Chu, inspection tours of local tourist programs,
and trde talks.
Three
Gorges Tourist Festival. During this festival,
which takes place every June, there are cruises
on the gorgeous Three Gorges of the Yangtze,
inspection tours of local tourist attractions
(Yangtze Three Gorges, the scenic resorts around
the two great dams, Shennongjia Scenic Zone,
Ruins of the Three Kingdoms, Qingjiang Folklore
and Scenic Zone, etc.), gala folklore celebrations,
night cruise on board luxury cruises, and business
talks.
Int'l
Mount Wudan Tourist Festival. On the agenda
of this festival, which takes place on the 9th
day of the 9th lunar month every year, are the
largest Taoist summons ceremony in china, performances
of the Wudang school of martial arts, mountaineering,
exhibition of selected Taoist artifacts, folklore
performances, and sightseeing tours.
Shennongjia
Int'l Bio-tourist Festival. In every October,
the place is the site of tours of the local
ecological system and the local folklore, and
folk art performances.
Other
Events. There are some other festivals in Hubei
Province, such as the Mount Jiugongshan Summering
Festival held in July and August, the Rapid
Rafting festival on Qingjiang River in Enshi
in August, and the Yingshan Tea Festival in
April.
Wuhan
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