The rapid development of coastal urban agglomerations in China has gained global attention since the 1980s. Recently, several regions in the Central China have also experienced rapid economic development. The objectives of this paper are to explore whether the spatial pattern of urban growth in Central China's urban agglomerations is the same as those costal ones and whether it is driven by anything other than external forces. Using the Changzhutan region as an example, this study analyses the economic transformation and spatial restructuring of the populations in urban agglomerations in Central China and explores the driving factors of urban growth using regression models. We find that most of the population is concentrated in prefecture‐level city districts and county seats, which is markedly different from the large‐scale regional population agglomerations found in the coastal urban agglomerations. Domestic investment, instead of foreign investment, and human capital, has become important factors driving the population migration. This finding sharply contrasts with the pattern found in coastal urban agglomerations, where regional concentrations of the population and economic activities are primarily driven by labour‐intensive and global economies. This case study may serve as a basis for future urban planning and management in Central China.

As a response to the global economic crisis of 2008, the Chinese government has started to focus on domestic demand as one of the key national development strategies. New extended metropolitan regions (EMRs) in inland China are being designated as major platforms to promote domestic demand. Within the context of this new global economic environment and Chinese national policy, these EMRs might not share the same spatial characteristics and processes in the course of their growth and development as those in coastal areas. Using the Changzhutan (CZT) region as an example and comparing it to EMRs in coastal China, the article argues that a new type of urbanisation has been developing in China since 2000, a new region-based urbanisation driven by the combined forces of domestic demand and globalisation. Classified as a new category of EMR, (EMR II), these newly emerging EMRs in inland China are characterised as having domestic investment and demand as key drivers. Other characteristics are the ‘backflow’ of l...