To compete with first-tier cities, second-tier cities put forward a series of preferential policies to attract and retain some of China’s seven million fresh graduates.

　　为了与一线城市竞争，二线城市推出了一系列优惠政策，想方设法吸引和留住中国700万应届毕业生中的部分大学生。

　　About 7.5 million graduates rush into society as graduation season comes. When first-tier cites, such as Beijing and Shanghai, tighten resident requirements, second-tier cities launch special policies to retain the millions of graduates, and encourage their employment and entrepreneurship in these cities.

　　随着毕业季来临，约750万毕业生涌入社会。在北京、上海这样的一线城市收紧落户要求时，二线城市出台特殊政策留住数百万的毕业生，并且鼓励他们在这些城市里就业和创业。

　　In the last week, some provincial capitals, including Wuhan, Changsha, Xi’an, and Chengdu, continuously announced their future investment plans to attract the graduates, for example, the policy that allows the granting of household registration before employment.

　　上周，一些省会城市，包括武汉、长沙、西安、和成都，相继宣布了它们吸引毕业生的未来投资计划，例如，允许在就业前落户的政策。

　　Wuhan and Xi’an have lowered their requirements for resident registration to the lowest level ever among provincial capitals.

　　武汉和西安将落户要求降至了各省会中历史最低。

　　According to policy in Changsha, the capital of central China’s Hunan province even provides rewards for fresh graduates, in addition to zero requirements for Hukou (resident registration). The city said it would provide new graduates registered in it with rental and housing subsidies based on their degrees. Graduates with doctor, master, and bachelor degrees can get 15K, 10K, and 6K RMB as rental allowance, respectively; and for those who buy their first homes, 60K and 30K RMB will be given as housing allowance to PhD graduates and postgraduates, respectively.

　　根据长沙的政策，除了落户零门槛，这个中国中部湖南省省会甚至为应届毕业生提供了奖励。长沙表示，愿意根据学历为登记的应届毕业生提供租房补贴。博士、硕士、学士分别可以获得1.5万、1万、和6千的租房补贴;对于买第一套房的博士和硕士，他们分别可以获得6万和3万的补贴。

　　Besides household registration and cash subsidies, housing is also taken into the consideration in this talent contest. Nanjing and Chengdu provide “talent apartments” and public rental houses to graduates working locally. In Chengdu, it was just announced that outside graduates could check into the “youth talent hotel” for free for seven days.

　　在此次人才竞争中，除了落户和现金补贴之外，住房也被考虑在内。南京和成都为在本地工作的毕业生提供“人才公寓”和公租房。成都刚刚宣布，外来毕业生可以免费入住“青年人才旅馆”7天。

　　The talent contest is actually due to the tightening policy of first-tier cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. The quota for people from other places to register their household in Beijing has been decreasing since 2014, and the population in Shanghai has seen nagative growth since 2015. Among the first-tier cities, only Shenzhen in southern China has kept its talent policy in place.

　　事实上，人才竞争归因于北京、上海这样的一线城市收紧了政策。来自其它地方落户北京的人口配额自2014年以来就一直在减少，上海人口自2015年以来就处于负增长。在一线城市中，唯有南方的深圳保留了人才政策。

　　Second-tier cities realize that talents are significant to their development, so attracting them is just the first step. To retain them, outstanding industries and recourses are the crux. For example, Changsha’s superior entertainment industry attracts media folks, but the Internet and science and technology industries are developing. A report from Lanzhou University showed that second-tier cities are less appealing to graduates than first-tier ones in the areas of Internet, finance, and media.

　　二线城市意识到人才对于其发展的重要性，因此吸引人才仅仅是第一步。为了留住他们，杰出的产业资源至关重要。例如，长沙领先的娱乐产业吸引媒体人士，但是其互联网和科技产业仍在发展当中。兰州大学的一份报告显示，相比互联网、金融、和媒体领域的一线城市，二线城市对于毕业生的吸引力更少。

　　Actually, for the talents, housing, household registration, and allowances are not the most important factors for deciding whether to settle down in a new place. The key is the development potential.

　　事实上，对于人才而言，住房、落户、和补贴都不是决定他们在一个新地方定居的最重要原因。发展潜力才是关键。