WUHAN -- The central Chinese city of Wuhan, hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic early last year, notched up about 58.4 percent of GDP growth in the first quarter of 2021.

The capital city of Hubei Province managed to stage a strong economic recovery after its GDP shrank by 40.5 percent year-on-year in the Q1 of 2020 due to a long-period lockdown to contain the epidemic.

In the first three months of 2021, Wuhan's GDP figure reached about 357.4 billion yuan ($55 billion), according to the municipal statistics bureau.

The city also reported an overwhelming year-on-year increase of 92.2 percent in its foreign trade during the period. Its exports climbed by 123.4 percent year-on-year to around 38.7 billion yuan in the period, while its imports gained nearly 68 percent to about 37.5 billion yuan.