Hubei

Hubei

Coordinates: 31°12′N 112°18′E / 31.2°N 112.3°E / 31.2; 112.3

Hubei Province
湖北省
Abbreviations: 鄂 (pinyin: È)
Origin of name 湖 hú - lake
北 běi - north
"north of Lake Dongting"
Administration type Province
Capital
(and largest city)
Wuhan
CPC Ctte Secretary Li Hongzhong
Governor Wang Guosheng
Area 185,900 km2 (71,800 sq mi) (14th)
- Latitude 29° 05' to 33° 20' N
- Longitude 108° 21' to 116° 07' E
Population (2010)
- Density
57,237,740 (9th)
324 /km2 (840 /sq mi) (12th)
GDP (2011)

- per capita
CNY 1.95 trillion
US$ 311 billion (11th)
CNY 34,233
US$5,434 (13th)
HDI (2008) 0.784 (medium) (16th)
Ethnic composition Han - 95.6%
Tujia - 3.7%
Miao - 0.4%
Languages and dialects {{{Dialects}}}
Prefectural level 13 divisions
County level 102 divisions
Township level* 1235 divisions
ISO 3166-2 CN-42
Official website
http://www.hubei.gov.cn
(Simplified Chinese)
Source for population and GDP data: Source for nationalities data: *
Template • Discussion • WikiProject China

Hubei (Chinese: 湖北; pinyin: Húběi; Wade–Giles: Hu-pei; Postal map spelling: Hupeh) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting. The provincial capital is Wuhan, a major transportation thoroughfare and the political, cultural, and economic hub of Central China.

Hubei is officially abbreviated to "鄂" (È), an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin dynasty, while a popular name for Hubei is "楚" (Chǔ), after the powerful state of Chu that existed here during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. It 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 at Yichang, in the west of the province.

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