Hubei is located in central China, with a total area of 186,000 square km and a total population of more than 61 million. Now it governs 12 cities directly under the provincial government, 1 autonomous prefecture, 1 forest region, 3 directly-managed cities, 21 cities at county level and 38 counties.

The cultural background of Hubei Province is profound. It contains the hometown of Yan emperor, the first ancestor of the Chinese Nation. Chu State in Spring, Autumn and Warring State Period created splendid Chu culture for over 800 years. The first rise of the 1911 revolution occurred in the Wuhan city of Hubei.

The resources in Hubei Province are abundant. The Yangtze River runs 1061 km in Hubei Province and lakes are densely covered in this province. The network of rivers is vertical and horizontal and this province has always been called A Province with One Thousand Lakes. There are over 4000 large and small rivers, totaling over 60,000 kms. The water resources are abundant and the water energy available for development reaches up to 31,330,000 kw. This takes fourth place in China, among which the generating capacity of Three Gorges Project takes the first place for the world’s largest hydraulic power plant. There are 138 kinds of mineral resources discovered at present, with reserves of phosphor, plaster and rock salt. Hubei is one of the provinces with relatively rich tourism resources, mountains, rivers and cultural relics.

The traffic is developed and the communication is convenient in Hubei province. Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei Province, “a thoroughfare to nine provinces”, is a traffic pivot connecting the east and the west and linking the south and the north. The world's third longest river -- the Yangtze River and its longest tributary, Han River, join in Wuhan. It divides the city into three separate towns: Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. The main national railway trunks run from north to south and from east to west. The highways extend in all directions, among which the total mileage of the expressways reaches up to 2,719 km. Wuhan Tianhe Airport is an important air harbor in China Mainland.

Hubei is one of the important industrial and agricultural bases in China. As for the industry, eight pillar industries including automobile, metallurgy, machinery, electric power, chemical industry, electric information, light industry, textile industry and construction materials have taken shape. State-owned large-sized enterprises such as the Dongfeng Automobile Corporation and Wuhan Iron and Steel (Group) Corporation play an important role in the national economy. Hubei is one of the main grain producing areas in China. Two of its largest agricultural bases include Jianghan Plain and North Hillock. It has been called a land flowing with milk and honey. Additionally, grain, cotton, oil and fresh water products have an important role in the country’s economy.

Hubei has a powerful scientific and educational grounding. There are 122 general colleges and universities, 1.4 million university students, nearly 1,500 scientific research institutes，57 academicians and 78 persons from “One Thousand Talent Program” in Hubei province. The scientific research level and production capacity in high-tech fields such as photo-electron information, new-type materials, bio-engineering and new medicine, aviation, laser, digital control technology and computer software development is superior in the country.

Wuhan, the capital city, has been known as the traditional inland transportation hub and was appointed by the State Council as an important city of central China. The rise of central China’s strategy proposed by the government has caused Hubei to embrace rapid and sound development. In 2010, the GDP of Hubei province reached 1.58 trillion yuan and the per capita GDP exceeded 4,000 USD. The sales revenue of the seven pillar industries (including automobile, iron and steel, equipment manufacture and electronic information) has reached 100 billion yuan. In the first half of this year, the GDP growth rate of Hubei reached 14.1 percent. In the next 5 years, Hubei is going to dedicate itself to scientific development and become an important strategic supporting point for the rise of central China.