Hangzhou turns 'destination of choice' for talent

Hangzhou is rapidly emerging as the most attractive destination for talents who have left China's first-tier cities, as the capital of Zhejiang province has done a good job in cultivating innovation-driven startups, a new report said on Tuesday.

In the first two months of 2018, 13.7 percent of jobseekers who have left Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are heading to Hangzhou for new opportunities, according to the report released by the online recruitment platform Boss Zhipin.

Chang Meng, president of the research institute at Boss Zhipin, said: "A string of competitive tech companies, including both heavyweights and startups, have emerged in Hangzhou. Its appeal will increasingly grow in the coming years."

The eastern city is now home to e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and a branch of the country's second largest gaming company NetEase Inc. Also, the local government is rolling out favorable policies to lure talents, including giving household registrations to excellent employees.

Other popular cities among jobseekers include the central city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and the southwestern city of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, the report said, adding the trend is in line with China's efforts to promote a more balanced development across the country.

"A large number of internet-related jobs are available in second-tier and third-tier cities now," Chang said.

In contrast, Guangzhou is gradually losing its appeal as the city houses more traditional companies such as fast-moving consumer goods makers, she added.

According to the report, which is based on analysis of user behavior, the overall net talent loss rate in China's big four cities was 0.6 percent in the first two months of 2018, while in the same time frame, the number of job seekers increased 20 percent year-on-year.

Qi Ting, a programmer in Hangzhou, said she left Beijing a year ago, due to the bad weather and the heavy pressure to buy a house, which made it impossible for her to settle down.

"After honing my skills in Beijing, I can find a very good job in Hangzhou," Qi said.

As the country steps up its push to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, the demand for engineering and trade talents has also risen since the beginning of this year.

"Companies are now scrambling to build infrastructure projects in countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, which makes project engineering and trade industries that command the second and fourth biggest demand for talents," Chang added.