Hubei

Hubei is a Central Chinese province. The name is derived from 'Hu' meaning lake and 'Bei' meaning North. It is the home of many battles from the Three Kingdoms "San Guo" period of Chinese history. Many cities still retain parts of the history of this time, such as Jingzhou which boasts a wonderfully intact city wall dating back to this time.

Hubei is also home of Yichang, site of the world famous Three Gorges Dam "San Xia Da Ba" project, which is the world's largest hydro-electric dam. This damn has effectively dammed the mighty Yangtse River "Chang Jiang".

The capital city of Hubei is Wuhan, a sprawling city made up of three separate cities separated by the Yangtse and Han rivers. Wuhan gains its name from the name of the three major parts of the city, Wuchang, Hanyang and Hankou. Wuhan is one of the notorious '3 furnaces' of China, however it easily out-steams it's rivals Nanjing and Chongqing. During a typical summer temperatures soar above 40 degrees celcius and humidity rarely drops below 80%. It is because of this weather that the Chinese people believe the local population have gained their fiery reputation of being loud and easily riled up. In winter temperatures drop below 0 degrees celcius and a few of inches of snow is not uncommon occurrence.

The most famous Hubei attraction is beautiful Wudangshan Mountain with a fascinating history in Shiyan city.
Jin Ding or Golden Top was built at the same time as the forbidden city as a thanks to the God Zhen Wu for helping the emperor take over the country. The Carefree Valley is a beautiful hike with monkeys, waterfalls, and fresh water pools large enough to take a dip. Xia Guan at the end of the Carefree valley is a working farm on an 600 year old temple complex. Nan Yan or South Rock is a stunning temple built into a cliff face.

Top things to do is Study Kung Fu. Wudang Kung Fu is one of the two most famous styles of Chinese martial arts. There are many schools to choose from in the Wudang area. You can study for a day or for years.

Perhaps the most celebrated element of Hubei cuisine is the Wuchang fish, a freshwater bream that is commonly steamed. Types of traditional Chinese opera popular in Hubei include Hanju and Chuju Opera. The Shennongjia area is the alleged home of the Yeren, a wild undiscovered hominid that lives in the virgin forested hills.