Hubei province is situated in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and to the north of Dongting Lake. It is surrounded by Henan Province to the north, Jiangxi and Hunan to the south, Anhui to the east, Sichuan to the west and Shaanxi to the northwest. Hubei covers an area of 180,000 square kilometers (about 69,500 square miles) with a large population of 60,280,000. Its capital, Wuhan, is located in the southeastern part of the province.

Hubei has been said to be one of the originating places of the Chinese people. Today many minority ethnic groups live in this area including: Miao, Tujia, Dong and some others.

When to go

Hubei has a subtropical monsoonal climate with a humid and hot summer, dry winter and strong sunlight in autumn. Annual rainfall averages 800-1600 millimeters and with average temperatures ranging from 15C-17C. Most places in Hubei enjoy four distinct seasons, with the best times to travel there being spring and autumn.

What to see

The long history and the brilliant Chu culture endow Hubei with numerous cultural relics. Ancient towers, grottoes, city remains, imperial mausoleums, temples and nobilities' native places can be found throughout the province.

As the heaviest musical instrument in the world, the set of bronze chime bells unearthed from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of the Zeng State can be found in the Hubei Provincial Museum. With a total weight of 2567 kilogram, the set of bells consists of 65 pieces. The biggest bell is 152.3cm (five feet) high and 203.6kg and the smallest 20.4cm (less than one foot) long and 2.4kg.

Wudang Mountain is a sacred Taoist mountain with hundreds of temples and palaces. East Lake, located on the eastern side of Wuchang City, is one of the major tourist attractions in Wuhan. It is the biggest lake within a city in China. Yellow Crane Tower, located on Snake Hill in Wuchang City, is one of the three famous towers south of the Yangtze River.

Hubei also boasts impressive natural scenery. The Three Gorges offers an unmatched painting of water and mountains. The World Famous Yangtze Three Gorges Dam Project is located in Hubei Province, just outside of Yichang City. It is not only the largest water conservation project in China, but also the largest water conservation project in the world.

The national reservation of Shennongjia is a dense wilderness in western Hubei province. It has always been a mysterious place, an enigma in Chinese geography. Since the discovery of traces of wild people there, it has aroused people's curiosity about it all the more.

Other attractions include Chibi (Red Cliff) where a famous ancient battle happened and Jingzhou, a historical city made famous by Three Kingdom battles are also worthy of sight.