For several years, Tier 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai have captured most of the investment attention from the international institutional circuit. Now, opportunistic capital is reaching north and inward. "What has been a coastal city phenomenon is now becoming a national growth story," Chris Brooke, president and CEO of Greater China for CB Richard Ellis said during a recent Global In-Sights webcast.

China's growth-intensive drive, though, is slowing as it is worldwide. Real GDP dropped to 10.1% from 12.2% in the year-to-year, second-quarter comparison for 2007 and '08. "Slowing in Asia means the growth rate is dropping from double-digit 10s to 7%, 8% and 9%," said Raymond Torto, CBRE's global chief economist. Regardless of the slowdown, Asia will still account for 50% of the world's GDP this year.

Based on CBRE data, China's top cities for GDP growth are Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Tianjin. Clustered for sixth place are Qingdao, Chengdu, Wuhan, Dailian, Ningbo, Shenyang, Hangzhou and Nanjing.