The Chinese Social Sciences Academy's Institute in Henan province sent a team of specialists to do a field study, April 8 – 11, in the city of Nanyang of its economy amidst the urbanization and social development.

The experts visited eight districts, where they mainly looked at the economy, industrial parks, service sector, cultural resources and new social trends.

The city has obtained several projects from coastal areas wanting to move inland in recent years, so it is restructuring its economy and improving its under-developed transportation system by building a high-speed rail line connected to the provincial railway network and one member of the team, Yu Xin'an, president of the institute, has been able to pick out its ecological, geographical, and cultural advantages and its market potential.

The experts found that, while the city's ecology work and agriculture rank among the top in the province, there is a lot of room for improvement in its industries, so Cao suggested that cultural tourism is another area that can be developed, based on the research results.

The experts also agreed that the city could be turned into an economic center for central China.