Wuhan embodies China’s rise as a global economic power, in all its complexities. Disposable income per person soared more than sixfold between 2002 and 2018, according to government figures compiled by CEIC Data, an information provider. The area is home to vast factories making cars for General Motors, Nissan, Honda and other global and local brands. The city has become a popular destination for foreign investment.

The Chinese government thinks so highly of the city’s image that Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India there two years ago. The two walked along the city’s East Lake, building what Chinese state-run media came to call the Wuhan spirit between the two regional rivals.

The boom has come with problems. Heavy pollution has provoked protests. Wuhan’s streets are often clogged with traffic. Its steel factories, long a backbone of the local economy, have struggled along with the rest of the inefficient industry in China with overcapacity and pollution problems, leading Beijing to combine the state-owned local giant, Wuhan Steel, with another company.