The "Empty City" issue has been a focus for the public for a long time. Pushing forward urbanization requires a thorough understanding of this issue in order to prevent the spread of the problem and avoid various conflicts and risks brought by the issue.

From a subjective perspective, the definition and the analysis of the essential causes of the "Empty City" issue is lack of data record and scientific evidence.

The research fellows of the Development Strategy and Regional Economy Department，the DRC

have conducted a field trip in Lanzhou, capital city of Gansu province; Erdos of Inner Mongolia; Yingkou of Liaoning province; Wenzhou of Zhejiang province; and Huizhou of Guangdong province to better understand this phenomenon. Based on the field trip, as well as collected data and analysis, the report has made policy and resolution recommendations.