  In this work, we calculate the $h_c(^1P_1)$ production rate at the LHC to
leading order of the strong coupling constant, for both color-singlet and
-octet mechanisms. Numerical results show that a considerable number of $h_c$
events with moderate transverse momentum $p_T$ will be produced in the early
run of the LHC, which will supply a good opportunity to further study the
nature of this P-wave spin-singlet charmonium state.
