Investors on the coast already seem to be onto the changes. About 72 percent of the 50.6 billion yuan of domestic investment in Wuhan in 2010 came from the east. The investment jumped by 34.41 percent compared with that in 2009, local government statistics show.

The Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone is also banking on the city's proximity to major cities in China. The zone is a major destination for investment from coastal China and foreign countries in Wuhan.

"Following Midea and Haier's move, Gree Electric Appliance also decided to establish a plant in our zone in 2010. The big names in China's home appliances sector came here for the major market and the short delivery distance that Wuhan provides," says Yan Shicheng, vice-director of the zone's economic development bureau.