Wuhan is located in the east of Jianghan Plain. The Yangtze River, the third largest river in the world, and the Hanshui River, its largest tributary, pass through the city, dividing the urban area of Wuhan into three parts, forming a pattern of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang separated by a river.
Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote here that "the Jade Emperor blows the Yellow Crane Tower, and plum blossoms fall into the river in May", so Wuhan has been known as the river city since ancient times. The city now governs 13 urban areas and 3 national development zones, covering an area of 8467 square kilometers. Rivers crisscross the territory, lakes and harbors are intertwined, and hundreds of mountains are located between them. The water area accounts for a quarter of the city's area, which constitutes a very distinctive riverside and lakeside water ecological environment.