or Hu-pei conventional Hupeh
Province (pop., 2000 est.: 60,280,000), east-central China.
It lies north of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and is bordered by Sichuan , Shaanxi , Henan , Anhui , Jiangxi , and Hunan provinces and Chongqing municipality. It has an area of 72,400 sq mi (187,500 sq km), and its capital is Wuhan . In the 1st millennium BC it was ruled by the Zhou dynasty, and it became part of the Chinese empire during the Han dynasty . Until the reign of Kangxi , Hubei and Hunan formed one province; they were divided in the mid 17th century. The area was the scene of battles after the 1850 Taiping Rebellion . The revolution of 1911 (see Nationalist Party ) began in Hubei. It was heavily bombed during the Sino-Japanese War of 193745. Restoration began after the communist Chinese takeover. In addition to agricultural production, Hubei has important heavy industrial production.