Wuhan Analysis 2020

Dimensions

1. Division: Hankou and Wuchang don’t seem like one city. Hankou Riverside municipal government and Wuchang Fruit Lake provincial government have inconsistent goals - one promotes Yangtze River New City, the other uses the whole province’s strength to build Optics Valley;
2. Geography: Rivers and lakes fragmented, inconvenient transportation, islands everywhere, especially transportation from Wuchang to Optics Valley is very inconvenient; Central city cluster too weak and scattered, not even as good as western Chengdu + Chongqing;
3. Governance: First-tier city potential, third-tier city coordination; keen on spreading pancakes, extensive imbalance; addicted to land finance with loose regulation; grassroots governance capability lags coastal areas by 20-30 years;
4. System: Second son of the Republic, deeply bound by institutions, state-owned enterprise monopoly, large rent-seeking space, squeezing private economy;
5. Employment: Million college students in involution, lacking high-paying positions, can’t retain talent;

Railway

Changsha 1h Wudang Mountain 2h Jiujiang 2.5h Shanghai 3.5h Zhangjiajie 5h Guilin 5h Xiamen 7h Kunming 6.5h Luoyang 3h Xi’an 4h Chongqing 6h Chengdu 8h Beijing 4h Qingdao 6h Shenzhen 4h Guangzhou 4h Harbin 12.5h