Wuhan, China...Rich in History

When my kids were little, one of my favorite books that I liked to read to them was titled; "The Adventures of PING". The story took place on a river boat in China along the Yangtze River. Something that far away dreams were made from. Ping was a very cute, sassy little duck.I would often day dream after reading the story of Ping, it seemed like such a far away land. He was a cute, mischievous little fellow. He would always wander off from the crowd, one day finding himself captured, and almost made into dinner. He always seemed to find his way into trouble, a bit like myself at times, but at the end of the day Ping always managed to find his way back to his boat and his master, most times being last, and having to pay the price by a swatting of the reeds. Wuhan is the Capitol of Hubei Province, it is situated at the confluence of The Yangtze River and it's greatest branch, Hangjiang. Being accessible to both water and land, it has earned it's reputation of "the thoroughfare to nine provinces" and functions as one of the few pivots of water, land and air.
Wuhan belongs to the Jianghan Plain with a clear distinction between the seasons.It is home to more than a hundred beautiful lakes that are distributed throughout the city, as well as many scenic mountains.
Wuhan designates itself the 'Cradle of Culture', with tens of thousands of years history, and it is one of China's most historical and most cultural cities.
A city of three towns and two rivers, Wuhan has a trading heritage that dates back as far as the Ming Dynasty. Today, I stay in the Shangri-la Hotel, in Wuhan, its central location in the Hankou buissness and commercial hub makes it convenient to all. Called "Three Towns of Wuhan" with Wachang, Hankou and Hanyang, which are all divided by the Yangtze River and Hanjiang. Hankou is home to the commercial center, Wachung is known for its culture center, and with most universities of Wuhan and the provincial government of Hubei; and Hanyang is the key to development of the city.
I'm told The Yangtze River Pier is only 15 minutes from my hotel, at some point I will wander my way over to explore the old river boats,you never know, I might just stumble opon "PING!"