Wuhan

I arrived in Wuhan a week ago today. I have had no opportunity to post to the China blog until now. Our work schedule is intense, and we have many daily logistics problems to resolve. In addition, our hotel has only three Internet computers which are in use 24/7. Many Chinese businessmen and African tourists are staying here, and everyone is writing home. The three keyboards all have blank keys. The keyboards have been used so much that the letters have been completely rubbed off. If you're not a touch typist, you're in trouble. All the computer screens are in Chinese, so it's sort of an exercise in Braille [I just tried to spellcheck "Braille." A drop-down menu of 12 Chinese options displayed. No spell-checking today.]

Wuhan is a city of about 9 million people in Hubei Province (60 million people in this province alone. That's about 1/5th of the entire U. S. population). The city is enormous in area and divided into three parts (commercial, cultural, and industrial). The Yangtze River and its largest tributary (the Han) meander through the city, making it a real waterfront town. Wuhan is the only city in China that has developed on both sides of the Yangtze, requiring an immense double-decker bridge (cars one level, railroad below). In many places, the river is 800 meters wide (immense). In addition, one of the largest lakes in China is spead throughout the city. In the U.S. expensive lakefront homes would line all these waterways. Here most waterfront is public space with many beautiful parks and lotus blossom ponds (think immense water lillies with leaves the size of basketballs and flowers the size of grapefruit). The important industries of Wuhan are steel/iron production and cars (Citroen cabs and Hondas). Pepsi, Coke, and Budweiser are also produced here. Wuhan has the first Budweiser plant built in China (because they have such good water here). [No comment on the latter.]

The best way I can describe Wuhan: It's not New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, L.A. or Las Vegas. It's more like a really big Des Moines, Iowa.