Wuchang is one of 13 urban
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
of the
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...
of
Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
, the capital of
Hubei Province,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the right (southeastern) bank of the
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
River, opposite the mouth of the
Han River. The two other cities,
Hanyang and
Hankou, were on the left (northwestern) bank, separated from each other by the Han River.
The name "Wuchang" remains in common use for the part of urban Wuhan south of the Yangtze River. Administratively, however, it is split between several districts of the City of Wuhan. The historic center of Wuchang lies within the modern Wuchang District, which has an area of and a population of 1,102,188. Other parts of what is colloquially known as Wuchang are within
Hongshan District (south and south-east) and
Qingshan District (north-east). Presently, on the right bank of the Yangtze, it borders the districts of Qingshan (for a very small section) to the northeast and Hongshan to the east and south; on the opposite bank it borders
Jiang'an,
Jianghan and
Hanyang.
On 10 October 1911, the
New Army stationed in the city started the
Wuchang Uprising, a turning point of the
Xinhai Revolution
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...
that overthrew the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
and established the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
.
History
The old Wuchang county
In 221, warlord
Sun Quan
Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...
moved the capital of
Eastern Wu
Wu (Chinese language, Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < Eastern Han Chinese: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in historiography as Eastern Wu or Sun Wu, was a Dynasties of China, dynastic state of China and one of the three major sta ...
from
Gong'an county,
Jingzhou (northwest of present-day Gong'an county, Hubei) to
È county (in present-day
Ezhou City), and renamed È to Wuchang (literally ''prospering from military'', regarding its
logistics
Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
role of the
military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
s established before the
Battle of Red Cliffs). Later in the year
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () (late 187 – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the ...
proclaimed himself the emperor of
Cao Wei
Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...
. Sun Quan declared independence in the following year, and started to build forts and palaces in Wuchang. Sun Quan proclaimed himself the emperor of Eastern Wu in 229, and moved the capital to
Jianye.
Sun Hao, the emperor of Eastern Wu between 264 and 280, moved the capital back to Wuchang in 265. In 589, the Wuchang
commandery was abolished and the Wuchang county was transferred to a new commandery named Ezhou (headquartered in present-day Wuchang District), and remained in the administration since then.
The present day Wuchang town
The Wuchang
commandery was set up when È was renamed to Wuchang, and included six counties. In 223 the commandery was renamed to
Jiangxia, and the capital of the commandery moved to Xiakou (in present-day Wuchang town). The name of the town was switched back and forth between Wuchang and Jiangxia several times in the following centuries. The present-day version of
Wuying Pagoda, the oldest standing architecture in Hubei Province, was built around the time of fall of the Southern Song Dynasty. After 1301, the Wuchang
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...
, headquartered in the town, became the capital of
Hubei
Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
province.
During the
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...
, Wuchang and the surrounding area changed hands several times after the Taiping capture of the city in the
Battle of Wuchang (1852).
At the end of the
Qing Empire, the Wuchang Prefecture (, then transcribed as 'Ou-tchang-fou') was the capital of the combined provinces of
Hubei
Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
and
Hunan
Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
, called the 'two Hu' or ''
Huguang Viceroyalty''. It was the seat of the provincial government of Huguang, at the head of which was a
viceroy of Huguang. Next to
Nanjing
Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400.
Situated in the Yang ...
and
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, it was one of the most important vice-royalties in the empire.
It possessed an arsenal and a mint. The provincial government established
iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
works for the manufacture of rails and other
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
material. As the works did not pay under official management, they were transferred to the director-general of railways. Wuchang was not open to foreign trade and residence, but a considerable number of
missionaries, both
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, lived within the walls. The native population was estimated at 800,000 around 1911, including cities on both banks. At that time, Wuchang was an important junction on the trunk railway from
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
to Guangzhou; and was on the route of the
Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
railway.
In Wuchang on October 10, 1911, a revolt broke out against the Qing Dynasty. This event, now called the
Wuchang Uprising and celebrated as
Double Ten Day, was the catalyst that started the
Xinhai Revolution
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...
, which led to the development of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
.
In 1912, the Wuchang prefecture was abolished and a new Wuchang county (just next to the Wuchang county in the Ezhou city) was created. In 1926 the Wuchang town was promoted to a city, and merged with
Hankou and
Hanyang to form a new city named
Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
.

After 1949, the more urban part of the Wuchang County was absorbed into the new Wuhan City and was administratively partitioned into Wuchang,
Qingshan and
Hongshan districts, while the remaining, mostly rural, southern part retained the name of Wuchang County. In 1995, Wuchang County became
Jiangxia District of Wuhan.
Geography
Administrative divisions
Wuchang District administers:
Notable people
*
Saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
Francis Regis Clet, one of the
Martyr Saints of China, executed in Wuchang in 1840
*
Li Bingbing, actress and singer
*
Jayne Meadows, American stage, film and television actress
See also
The Wuchang fish (''
Megalobrama amblycephala''; ) is named after the town.
References
External links
Official website of Wuchang District Government
{{authority control
County-level divisions of Hubei
Geography of Wuhan