Recruiting in China

China's coastal city Hangzhou plans to recruit a tourism image ambassador worldwide by paying 40,000 euros for one year work. The recruitment has been posted on well-known social networking services, including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube, reported the official website of the Hangzhou municipal government.

The "Modern Marco Polo -- Dr. Hangzhou" global recruitment campaign is looking for a tourism ambassador by providing Chinese culture lovers around the world with a chance to experience the best of Chinese tea, silk, sigillography (the art of Chinese chop and seal making), kung fu and traditional Chinese medicine while being remunerated to the tune of 40,000 euros plus a 15-day free trip to Hangzhou. The only work for "Dr. Hangzhou" is to share his or her experience in Hangzhou through the internet

Participants must complete an online training program and games about Hangzhou culture first and the top 20 will enter the next round. The government will select the winner from the 20 candidates.
The unique competition procedures and the high payment are attractive for young people, and recruitment through modern media will help raise Hangzhou's image and competitiveness, said Li Hong, head of the Hangzhou Tourism Commission.

In 2009, Australia's Queensland tourism authority started a recruitment campaign of caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. The "dream job" attracted 35,000 applicants and adventurer Ben Southall from Britain finally won the job. He worked only three hours a week and enjoyed a salary package of 150,000 US dollars for the six-month contract.

The recruitment triggered hot debate among netizens. Some think the competition is interesting and the work is attractive. Some criticized the extremely high salary as a waste of money and said the government should spend money in more urgent issues.