Seven towns from Sanmenxia, Henan province have been listed as national key towns by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Land and Resource.
After an evaluation of the population, geography, economic development, services, management and scientific innovation, the towns of Zhangcun, Xizhangcun, Guangyintang, Chengguan, Guandaokou, Zhuyang and Yuling qualified for the list.
A national key town is considered as an economic hub in the region it lies in and takes on the responsibility to accelerate urbanization and boost the development of its neighboring counties. They will also receive get more support on policy and land from the central government.
In August 2013, the central government decided to add more national key towns across China and targeted to equip every city or county with at least one national key town.