Known as the Chicago of China and located alongside the Yangtze River, Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, has been a business hub throughout the nation's modern history.

In recent years, the city's Hankoubei area has represented the "Wuhan model", showing the world how China's inland regions have found innovative ways to develop their economies.

The local government of Wuhan is making efforts to build the Hankoubei area into the nation's biggest domestic trade center.

The area is located between the largest railway station in Asia, the largest airport in Central China and the largest deep-water port in Central China.

In September 2016, the Hankoubei International Commodity Trade Center was listed as a national pilot market for foreign trade by on-the-scene purchasing, the only such market in Central and western China.

Since its opening-up in 2009, the area has aimed to become a commodity distribution center for not only Chinese inland regions but the outside world. The Hankoubei wholesale market has generated an annual trade volume of more than 150 billion yuan ($22.9 billion) over the last three years.

As e-commerce is currently emerging to become a substantial aspect of trade growth, Hankoubei established a partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in October 2014 to build an industry center in Wuhan. More than 2,000 e-commerce projects have been attracted to the area.

Hankoubei was recognized as a national demonstration base for e-commerce in July 2015 by the Ministry of Commerce.