Strolling Through the Alleys of Hankou to Discover Historical Buildings from the Former Concession Areas

Wuhan, Hubei, is known as the "Five-Nation Concession." In the Hankou district, from Jianghan Road to the Second Yangtze River Bridge, you can find historical buildings from the former concession areas along Jianghan Road, Shanghai Road, Nanjing Road, Dongting Street, and Yanjiang Avenue. Before the First Sino-Japanese War, Hankou had only one British concession. In the years following the war, four more concessions (French, Japanese, Russian, and German) were added, forming a lineup of five national concessions along the riverbank (1898–1917). Unlike Shanghai, where concessions were concentrated along the river, Wuhan's concessions were scattered throughout the area. To uncover the historical buildings of the former concession areas, one must wander through the streets and alleys, exploring slowly.