Click image to see full map

Hubei (Chinese: 湖北; pinyin: About this sound Húběi; Wade–Giles: Hu-pei; Postal map spelling: Hupeh) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the easternmost part of Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting.[3] The provincial capital is Wuhan, a major transportation thoroughfare and the political, cultural, and economic hub of Central China. Hubei is officially abbreviated to "鄂" (È), an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin dynasty, while a popular name for Hubei is "楚" (Chǔ), after the powerful state of Chu that existed here during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, and Shaanxi to the northwest. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province.

Hunan (Chinese: 湖南; pinyin: About this sound Húnán) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the south-central part of the country to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, which means "south of the lake").[3] Hunan is sometimes called and officially abbreviated as "湘" (pinyin: Xiāng) for short,[4] after the Xiang River which runs through the province. Hunan borders Hubei in the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong to the southeast, Guangxi to the southwest, Guizhou to the west, and Chongqing to the northwest. The capital is Changsha.