The metropolitan area consists of three parts - Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, commonly called the "Three Towns of Wuhan" (hence the name "Wuhan", combining "Wu" from the first city and "Han" from the other two). These three parts face each other across the rivers and are linked by bridges, including one of the first modern bridges in China, known as the First Bridge. It is simple in geographical structure - low and flat in the middle and hilly in the south, with the Yangtze and Han rivers winding through the city.

Wuhan has along history and was called Jiangxia in ancient times. Queyue City ( now Hanyang ) was built in late the Eastern Han Dynasty and Xiakou City ( now Wudhang) in the Three Kingdoms Period. Hankou became one of the four commercial cities in the Ming Dynasty with bustling businesses. The three cities were merged into one named Wuhan in 1949.

Wuhan has a sub-tropical monsoon climate and is very hot in summer The highest temperature in July and August can be 40c or above, gaining the city fame of one of China's three "stoves".

Wuhan is a sub-provincial city. Its GDP was RMB 223.8 billion and GDP per capita was approximately RMB 26,000 (US$3,245) in 2005

In 2005, the city's average disposable income was 10,850 yuan, up 13.4% from a year earlier. Wuhan has currently attracted about 50 French invested companies, over one third of French investment in China, the most among Chinese cities