Parenting in Wuhan

Hi, my name is Kay Lin, and my family moved here from Singapore in 2014. My four boys grew up here, and the three younger ones know more about life in Wuhan than about Singapore. If you are considering moving here with your family, here are some things you might want to know.

1. Weather 

Wuhan - Hubei province’s capital city - is known as one of the three furnaces of China. The weather can get extremely hot and humid during summer, hovering between 35-40 degrees Celsius in July and August. During winter, temperatures can go into the low minuses for a few days, with occasional snow, but mostly ranging between 0-10 degrees. Spring and autumn can be short and rainy.

Tip: Wuhan’s temperature can fluctuate a lot from one day to the next and sometimes even within one day. Check the weather reports to make sure you are appropriately dressed.

2. Culture

Wuhan has a rich history due to its central location as a transportation hub. This is the place where the Wuchang Uprising (1911) took place, ending the Qing Dynasty and seeing the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. There are historical landmarks like the Yellow Crane Tower, Hubei Provincial Museum and Wuhan-Yangtze River Bridge. People here speak Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua) but you will also hear the Wuhan dialect (Wuhanhua) being widely used.

Tip: If you are talking with a local and they seem like they are yelling at you, rest assured that they are not. Wuhan people have a habit of talking loud, and can appear aggressive. But they are really not upset. Most people are very friendly and keen to know foreigners.

3. Transportation

Transportation here is very convenient even if you don’t drive. Subways, buses, taxis and didis (a Chinese term for car-hailing platforms) get you almost anywhere you need to go. Covering 8,500 sq km of land, Wuhan is broadly divided into three “towns”: Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang. It is so spread out that it easily takes an hour or so to travel from one town to the other. Foreigners can convert their international driving permit to a Chinese license by passing a computer-based theory exam.

Wuhan is also the transportation hub of China, so flying and taking trains to other parts of the country is very convenient. Wuhan Tianhe International Airport is easily accessible via subway from the city. Wuhan also has two high-speed railway stations - Hankou Railway Station and Wuhan Railway Station - that offer convenient connections to a large number of destinations across China.

Tip: There are many ride-hailing platforms in China, but the most commonly used is the Didi app. When you have a kid who is prone to get car sick, tell the driver “Qing kai man yi dian. Wo xiao hai hui yun che” (please drive slowly, my child gets car sick). This trick will get most drivers to drive safely.

4. Housing

Most foreigners typically live in three types of housing. The first is in a hotel or service apartment where families can rent an apartment with two or three bedrooms, and have access to housekeeping, breakfast, gym, pool, etc. The second is in a gated community with high-rise apartments, usually with the services of a property management company. The third is also in a gated community with houses, ranging from single to three floors. Renting costs between 3,000rmb for a two-bedder to 15,000rmb for a house per month.

Tip: Ensure that your housing has built-in heating either through radiator panels, floor heating or central heating. As Wuhan is in the south of China, there isn’t government-provided central heating. Many of the local houses are colder indoors than outdoors.

Long-stay hotels or service apartments for families: Modena by Fraser, Somerset Future Centre, Somerset Kaide, MixC residences.

Gated apartments: Wanke Jinyu Lanwan, Liantou Jinse Gangwan (New Golden Harbor), Jinse Gangwan (Golden Harbor), Dongfeng Yangguang Cheng (Sunny Town), Wanke Feicui Jiuxi.

5. Kid's play

There are many kid options for play for a wide range of ages. Here are some of our top favorites:

• Parks. Wuhan has many outdoor parks, the most famous being the East Lake (东湖). (Refer to our other article for more information about East Lake.) The kids love to do the toboggan ride down the hill at Moshan (磨山) Area at East Lake. Other than East Lake, there are many free gardens scattered across the three “cities”. Some of those closer to us include: Soup Lake (汤湖), Sanjiaohu North Park (三角湖北公园) and Soccer Park (足球公园).

• Outdoor playgrounds. Wuhan has some of the most interesting outdoor pocket playgrounds, most of which are free. You can find a plane-themed playground at Zhangzhidong Playground (张之洞体育公园), boat-themed playground at Sixin Fangdao (四新方岛寻乐站), owl-themed playground at Zhangbihu Park (张毕湖公园).

• Indoor playgrounds. When the weather is bad, head indoors to the many paid playgrounds. For the younger ones, Fanpekka (幻贝家儿童乐园), Meland and Coohoo Max are some of the popular ones. For older kids, trampoline parks like All-Stars Trampoline (全明星蹦床）, iBoon (爱蹦运动馆) are popular, as are integrated sports parks like Be infinity (跃行极设).

• Movies. Movie tickets are so affordable here compared to many places outside of China. Order through the Meituan (美团) app, and it will be a fraction of the price you pay at the counter. Only thing is, as many of the movies will be voiced-over in Mandarin,  you need to find out which movie theatre is showing the original language if you prefer it.

Tip: Use Meituan (美团）or Dianping (点评）apps to find fun places to go and deals to save money. Little Red Book (小红书) and Douyin (抖音) are also great resources if you can read Chinese.

6. Education

For expatriate families looking to move to Wuhan, there are basically two tracks you might want to consider: local or international. For some families with young children, they might want to expose their children to Mandarin and thus choose to place them in a local Chinese kindergarten. When considering local schools, please look out for teacher-student ratios (many of these schools have large classes), homework load (yes, they give homework in kindergarten), and discipline methods. My youngest son was in a local kindergarten from three years on, and switched to our current school in kindergarten as advised by his teacher due to homework expectations.

The other track would be to go to an international school. Started in 2003, Wuhan Yangtze International School is the oldest foreign expatriate school in Wuhan, and it serves students from over 26 countries all over the world. In our 10 years in Wuhan, my children have grown and flourished under the care and nurture of the school and teachers. My eldest has gone on to National University of Singapore upon graduation from Wuhan Yangtze International School.