The city of Zibo, located in East China's Shandong province, has opened multiple channels for talent attraction and retention, Xinhua reported on Dec 14.

College graduates can receive a living subsidy of up to a maximum of 4,000 yuan ($628) per month for five years. On top of that, a PhD graduates can receive a settling-in subsidy of 300,000 yuan, 80,000 yuan is provided to master's graduate, and bachelor's degree holders can receive 50,000 yuan. All talents with college degrees can also buy or rent apartments for talents at a price far below the market average.

"I came here because of Zibo's talent policy," said Zhao Kun, a researcher at Shandong Industrial Ceramic Research & Design Institute Co Ltd. "I have enjoyed all the talent policies and have applied for a talent apartment this year, so I'm ready to settle down in Zibo."

In addition, Zibo has kept improving its entrepreneurial environment.

To date, the city has established five national-level entrepreneurial incubators and seven maker spaces. The government has prepared an investment fund of 1 billion yuan for talent to start their businesses as well as 30,000 apartment suites for talents.

According to the official statistics, Zibo attracted 79,500 graduate students to the city in 2020, and the number of students that graduated from Shandong University of Technology that chose to remain in Zibo in 2021 increased by 40 percent year-on-year.

"The data not only showcased the strong appeal of our talent policy, but also demonstrated the improved living environment in Zibo," said Ma Xiaolei, mayor of the city.