Cultural Geography

Hubei Province (Hubei), located in central China inter land, as “a thoroughfare to nine provinces”, is a traffic pivot connecting the east and the west and linking the south and the north. Endowed with sound water resources, Hubei are famous as” the province with a thousand lakes”. Hubei are also best known for its handsome natural landscapes. It enjoys the magnificent the three Gorges Project and the reputation of “the Roof of Central China of” Shennongjia Forest Region. The exquisite group of ancient buildings on Wudang Mountain and the mysterious Chu culture have been attracting people from the whole world. Since ancient times, Hubei is both famous as“ the land of fish and rice” and is famous for its natural resources and talented people. It is the birth of Shen Nong, a legendary Emperor of China, who is also known as the Yan Emperor or the Emperor of the five grains. Quyaun, the famous Chu poet, Li Shizhen, a god-man-of-medical, and Bisheng, an inventor are all born there. Wuhan is the capital city of Hubei. In the past, it was a traffic hub with great importance, while now praised as Eastern Chicago”, it is China’s key trading port, product distribution center, and traffic and information pivot.

Hubei, a province of thousand lakes, has an annual average temperature of 12.7 - 17.9 and an annual rainfall of 800 - 1600 mm,and 130 kinds of minerals discovered, of which the reserves ofphosphate, plaster stone, rock salt, etc. rank among the tops in China. Hubei,also China's third power in terms of scientific and educational capabilities and resources, with more than 1300 universities and colleges and a student population of 1.5 million approximately, more than 1500 scientific institutes. It is also endowed with low-cost yet high-quality labor force. It ranks the 7th and the 1st in Comprehensive Technological Innovation Index in the whole nation and central China.

The production factors such as water, electricity, gas and land are abundant in supplies and low in cost. Hubei has well-developed modern service industry. Its total tourism revenue is RMB 634.4 billion. The number of foreign financial institutions and listed companies in Hubei ranks the first in middle China. And the export of cultural products in Hubei ranks top in the country. Hubei boasts the world-renowned ShenNong culture of Yan Emperor, the history and culture of the State of Chu in the Zhou Dynasty, Threekingdom culture in the Qin and Han Dynasties and the ancient culture of the Ba minority.

Population and District

Hubei has 12 municipalities, 1 autonomous prefecture, 38 municipal districts, 24 county-level cities, including 3 sub-prefecture cities, 38 counties, 2 autonomous conties and 1forest region.

Advantages of Location and Traffic

In recent years, Hubei Province has made considerable progress in establishing its ports. The number of ports is growing steadily, and an all-round opening-up pattern linking water, land and air transportations efficiently has formed there. Hubei now has 5 international ports approved by China. Two of them are air ports named Wuhan Tianhe International Airport and Yichang Sanxia Airport separately. Another two of the five are water ports named Wuhan Water Port and Huangshi Water Port¡¡separately. The last one is a temporary land port located at Wuhan Railway Container Center Station. At the same time, Hubei has 4 comprehensive bonded zones termed Wuhan East Lake Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Wuhan New Port and Airport Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Wuhan Economic Development Comprehensive Bonded Zone and Yichang Comprehensive Bonded Zone separately. Wuhan also has 5 bonded logistics centers (B type) called Huangshi Chessboard Delta Bonded Logistics Center, Yichang Three Gorges Bonded Logistics Center, Xiangyang Bonded Logistics Center, Xiantao Bonded Logistics Center, and Jingmen Bonded Logistics Center separately. Except the above mentioned, 15 regulatory sites (original designated ports) have built for importing especial commodities, they are: Tianhe International Airport sites for importing seedlings and seeds, fruits, eatable aquatic animals, chilled aquatic products, meats; Yangluo Port site which is divided into two stages, for importing provision, fruits, meats; Huangshi Chessboard Delta Ports site for provision; Yangluo Port, Tianhe International Airport, and Wuhan Railway Container Center Station Port sits for importing medicines; Wuhan Railway Port for importing whole vehicle; East Lake Comprehensive Bonded Zone running as regulatory site for importing meat. Now all the 15 have been tested for acceptance and can be put into operation.

The largest comprehensive hub of transportation in central China, with the largest railway network and the longest CHR in China---Beijing-Guangzhou railway. Most of China's expressways intersect in Hubei and the total expressways in operation in Hubei come to 6000 kilometers, connecting all cities in the province. The first one hundred million tons port has been built on New Wuhan Port in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Advantages of Foreign Trade in Hubei

China’s 7th economy and one of the nation’s fastest-growing provinces.

One of China's three largest iron and steel bases; China's second largest auto-production base; China's optoelectronic IT industrial base; China's shipping industry base; the biggest interfacing center of optical fiber telecommunications in central China. Possesses the largest hydroelectric project - Three Gorges Dam. One of the bases in China for high and new technologies such as new material, bio-technology and new medicine, aerostatics, laser, digital control technology and computer software development.

Home to national industry bases for memory production, commercial space industry and new energy vehicles.

Have 22 national development zones, 81 provincial economic development zones and over 6000 high and new technology enterprises.

One of China's leading producers of food grains, cotton and cooking oil, and China's largest base for production of fresh water aquatic products.

The largest goods circulation and distribution center in inland China.

Wuhan is one of China's leading cities of service outsourcing. National strategic fulcrum for promotion of the rise of China's central economies. The urban agglomeration in the middle reach of the Yangtze River led by Wuhan is expected to become the fourth growth pole in China.

¢Ù The TOP 13 National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base

1.     Wuhan East Lake New Technology Development Zone, Hubei Province

2.     Wuhan National Automobile and Parts Export Base

3.     Wuhan Ship Export Base

4.     The Innovation Base of Rail Transit Equipment Industry of CRRC YANGTZE Co., Ltd

5.     Huangshi National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading (Ferrous Materials) Base, Hubei Province (Ferrous Materials)

6.     Science and Hi-tech Innovation Base of Xiangyang

7.     Yichang New Material Industrial Park of Xingfa Group

8.     National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading (Dressing) Base of Yunmeng County, Hubei Province

9.     National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading (Edible Fungi) Base of Suizhou City, Hubei Province

10. National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base (Textile) in Xiantao City, Hubei Province

11. National foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base (Aquatic Products) of Qianjiang City, Hubei Province

12. National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base (Textile) in Jianli County, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province

13. Jingzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone (Automobile and Parts) of National Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base

¢Ú 23 TOP Provincial Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Base and Characteristic Industry Cluster Area

l   -Å©²úÆ· Agriculture Products

1.     Wuhan Bee Products Export Base

2.     Wuhan Tea Products Export Base

3.     Wuhan Aquatic Products Export Base

4.     Xiangyang Nanzhang Agricultural Products (Edible Fungi) Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Base

5.     Xiangyang Yicheng Agricultural Products (Edible Fungi) Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Base

6.     Egg Export Base of Gongan County of Jingzhou City

7.     Shendan Egg Products Export Base of Xiaogan City

8.     Quality and safety Demonstration Zone of Export Food and Agricultural Products in Yingshan County, Huanggang City

9.     Demonstration Area of Agricultural Products in Suizhou

10. Export Base of Selenium Products in Hubei Province

11. Enshi Tea Export Base

12. Lichuan Tea Export Base

13. Xianfeng Tea Export Base

14. Xiantao Aquatic Products Export Base

l   -»úµç²úÆ· Mechanical and Electrical Products

1.     Automobile and Parts Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Base in Shiyan Economic Development Zone

2.     Xiangyang Automobile and Parts Export Base

3.     Suizhou Automobile and Parts Base

4.     Xiantao Mechanical and Electrical Products Export Base

l   ·ÄÖ¯·þ×° Textile Clothing

1.     Xiangyang Textile Clothing Parts Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Base

2.     Xiangyang Nanzhang Fine Chemical Products Foreign Trade Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Base

l   ÇṤ¹¤ÒÕ Light IndustryTechnology

1.     Xiaogan Hanchuan Light Industry (Baby Carriage) Export Base

l   ÐÂÐͲÄÁÏ New Materials

1.     Xiantao New Chemical Materials Export Demonstration Base

l   -Ò½Ò© Medicine

1.     Huangshi Pharmaceutical Chemical Transformation and Upgrading Demonstration Base

Current Situation of Foreign Trade in Hubei

In 2019, Hubei’s whole import and export volumes reached 394.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.2%. Among them, the export volume was 248.6 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 10.4%; the import was 145.88 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 18.2%. The growth rate of import and export, export and import were 9.8, 5.4 and 16.6 percentage points, higher than that of the whole country, respectively. In the first half of 2020, Hubei’s whole import and export volumes reached 166.5billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of about 2%. Among them, the export volume took up 98.9 billion yuan, with a year-on-year decrease of7%; the import one took up 67.6 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 8%.

Hubei has many top priorities to developing foreign trades. In hi-tech industrial field, Hubei are fast developing the new generation of information technology, biomedicine, new energy and other new strategic industries of various fields. Hubei are good at forming electromechanical and high-tech industrial chains including automobile and its parts, shipbuilding and supporting industry, and famous for industries including optoelectronics, information technology, phosphorus chemical industry, and so on. Hubei now has already owned a group of lead foreign trading enterprises who are of strong international competitive and vigorous powers, of their own independent intellectual property rights and independent brands, and of relative strong technological creative powers. It means that companies with high technological and add-on values and hi-tech product like electromechanical products with broad market are now gradually becoming important engines for foreign trades of Hubei.

Hubei has many advantages like convenient transportation, good industrial foundation, relatively low-cost elements, strong comprehensive strength of science and technology. At the same time, important developing strategies of our country like the Yangtze River economic belt and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration will also bring opportunities to Hubei.