Hankou, An Overview
Hankou is an interior city in China positioned on the northern bank of the Hanshui River and the western bank of the Yangtze River. Today it is part of the tri-city area of Wuhan. Hankou's key geographical position at the meeting point of these rivers has allowed it to play a an important role in trade. Trade dynamics in Hankou changed withthe Treaty of Tianjin in 1858. This treaty 'opened' Hankou up to being a treaty port. The United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, and Japan all established foreign concessions in Hankou. These concessions were set up along the bank of the Yangtze, each subsequent concession was just north of the previous. During the Anti-Japanese War Wuhan became the operations base for the Yangtze Valley campaign. Hankou, and Wuhan as a whole, played an interesting role in the Cultural Revolution and Chinese national history in the 1960s, particulary in the effects of the July 1967 Wuhan Incident. Hankou has, and continues to be, shaped by its geographical location, economic factors, and role in protest and rebellion.
This current map of Wuhan has been framed so as to emphasize the area of Hankou. The Yangtze and Hanshui River divided the area into three areas.
This satelliate image map allows us to see the larger Wuhan area.
In this map we can see Wuhan's position in China as a whole.