Wang Qingfeng (left) learns skills modestly from seniors
Early summer in Jincheng. Lush vegetation lines both banks of the Yellow River, and the whole city brims with vibrant youthful energy. Young dream chasers from all regions and walks of life have gathered in Lanzhou, rooting their youthful aspirations in this city by the Yellow River.
Cities value talents, and talents embrace cities. Focusing on the Plan to Double the Number of College Students Staying in Lanzhou, Lanzhou City targets the core demands of young talents in employment, entrepreneurship and housing settlement. It has built a full-cycle and whole-chain talent service system featuring housing guarantee, entrepreneurship support and employment assistance. With tangible policies and thoughtful services, the city addresses difficulties hindering young talents' development, enabling college graduates to settle down, thrive and take root here. Since 2024, Lanzhou has attracted and retained over 160,000 college graduates. The total number of talents in the city has exceeded 500,000 for the first time, reaching 554,000. Talent dividends keep fueling robust momentum for urban development.
Build nests to attract talents：
A housing ticket warms hearts, secure housing underpins stable employment
"After years of doctoral study, stepping into society, starting a family, building a career and settling down are the most practical needs. The policies in Lanzhou have completely relieved my worries," said Fu Yixuan firmly while sitting in the talent office of Lanzhou Vocational Technical College. As a doctoral graduate majoring in education from Northwest Normal University, she received job offers from multiple cities during the graduation season. After attending numerous special recruitment fairs for doctors, she finally decided to stay in Lanzhou.
This choice stems from Lanzhou's sincere and concrete efforts to attract talents. Fu Yixuan carefully calculated the benefits. As a full-time doctoral graduate, she is eligible for a one-time housing subsidy of 300,000 yuan offered by Lanzhou. The university also provides a talent apartment with three years of rent-free accommodation. Besides, a package of supportive policies including special doctoral allowances, research startup funds and priority channels for professional title evaluation offers comprehensive guarantees covering accommodation and career development. "Compared with talent recruitment policies in other cities, those of Lanzhou are more substantial and considerate."
Fu Yixuan's experience serves as a vivid epitome of Lanzhou's efforts to attract talents through housing benefits. Wang Ban, Deputy Section Chief of the Employment Promotion Section of Lanzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, stated that to address housing difficulties faced by young talents, Lanzhou has established a full-chain housing security system featuring free short-term accommodation, transitional rental housing and long-term residential guarantee. During job hunting, youth talent stations across the city offer free lodging for up to 15 days, sparing non-local graduates the trouble of finding accommodation while seeking jobs. After employment, young apartments provide a preferential policy that waives three months' rent for those who have resided there for one full year, cutting the cost of temporary housing. For home purchase, full-time doctors and masters graduated from Double First-Class universities can respectively receive housing subsidies of 300,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan. College graduates within three years of graduation can get a maximum subsidy of 30,000 yuan when buying their first new commercial housing.
By the end of 2025, Lanzhou had built 27 expert apartments, 1,379 talent apartments and 37 youth stations. A total of 919 young talents enjoyed free accommodation for 4,190 days, with housing voucher subsidies worth 24.8 million yuan granted. These heartwarming figures have become solid reasons for young talents to choose and settle down in Lanzhou, making the talent-friendly haven by the Yellow River increasingly appealing and welcoming.
Drive Dreams with Loans：
A loan eases hardships, chasing dreams bravely on the entrepreneurial journey
At two o'clock in the afternoon, this car beauty shop in Anning District welcomed a small peak of customers. Feng Rui skillfully rinsed vehicles with a water gun while greeting incoming customers warmly, moving nimbly and methodically.
"I am a native of Lanzhou. After graduating from Xinjiang Vocational and Technical University of Communications in 2024, I worked elsewhere for a year. Yet my heart always stayed with my hometown, and I was eager to come back and pursue my dreams," said Feng Rui, wiping sweat from his forehead. Having loved cars since childhood, he came up with the idea of opening an auto beauty shop after discussing with friends, but startup funds became his biggest obstacle.
When Feng Rui was at a loss, staff members from the Anning District Employment Service Center took the initiative to visit him and gave him a detailed explanation of the guaranteed loan policies for college graduates starting businesses. "Without this loan, my entrepreneurial dream could never have come true, and this store would have closed down long ago," Feng Rui sighed with emotion. He successfully obtained a guaranteed startup loan of 97,000 yuan, with half of the interest subsidized by government finance, which greatly eased his repayment burden. The timely fund allowed him to purchase professional equipment and stock up on goods. His shop opened smoothly and gradually got on track.
To support youth entrepreneurship, Lanzhou City has comprehensively optimized entrepreneurship support policies. It offers college graduates who start their own businesses secured entrepreneurship loans of up to 500,000 yuan with 50% fiscal interest subsidies. Meanwhile, the city steadily advances the "Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand" entrepreneurship guidance program, building a full-cycle entrepreneurship cultivation system consisting of entrepreneurship training camps, one-on-one expert guidance and precise resource matching. It safeguards young entrepreneurs in terms of capital, technology and resources, encouraging more bold and enterprising young people to embark on, carry out and succeed in business ventures.
Probationary paving:
One position builds career ladders, secures employment and fosters growth
If housing security and entrepreneurship support are targeted policies for high-level talents and entrepreneurs, then the employment internship program paves a warm career path for numerous fresh college graduates.
Wang Qingfeng is a fresh graduate majoring in Big Data and Accounting from Sichuan Vocational and Technical College of Communications. Hailing from Pingliang, Gansu Province, she aspired to seek career opportunities in Lanzhou, a city close to her hometown. However, she faced repeated setbacks at the start of her job hunt. "Most accounting positions in campus recruitment require work experience, and as new graduates lacking practical experience, we struggle to land suitable jobs," she said. Overwhelmed by anxiety, she spotted vacancies for enterprise trainee posts on a recruitment platform. She submitted her resume tentatively and successfully joined the company as a trainee.
"As fresh graduates, what we lack most is work experience. The employment internship policy offers us valuable opportunities to learn and grow, allowing us to gradually integrate into the industry and gain practical experience," said Wang Qingfeng. The internship policy she mentioned is a supportive measure launched in Lanzhou to tackle the employment difficulties of new graduates. Enterprises that recruit college graduates for employment internships can receive special government subsidies. This not only reduces enterprises' costs and concerns about hiring fresh graduates, but also builds a transition bridge for graduates moving from campus to the workplace.
From a situation where companies were reluctant to hire recent graduates to one where they actively cultivate new talent, and from a scenario where graduates had no access to job opportunities to one where there were pathways for internships, this transformation is driven by Lanzhou’s sustained efforts in employment services. Through the “Ten Thousand College Students Going to the Countryside” project, Lanzhou supports unemployed university graduates in finding employment at the grassroots level, providing each individual with a monthly living allowance of 1,500 yuan for three consecutive years. At the same time, the city encourages research institutions and technology-based enterprises to expand the scale of internship positions. By 2026, it plans to hold over 700 recruitment events of various types. Through live streaming to showcase job opportunities and intelligent, precise job placement, Lanzhou aims to establish a three-dimensional employment service platform featuring “large-scale comprehensive recruitment to build brands, medium-sized special recruitment to promote industries, and small-scale special recruitment to achieve precise matching.” This effort is aimed at fully bridging the “last kilometer” in employment opportunities for young talent.
From solving housing concerns with a housing quota, fueling entrepreneurial passion with loans, to paving the way for employment through trainee positions, numerous vivid stories paint a dynamic picture of full-cycle talent services in Lanzhou. "We will keep improving talent service measures and strive to build Lanzhou into the top destination where young talents can pursue, chase and fulfill their dreams," said Wang Ban. His words, accompanied by the roaring flow of the Yellow River outside the window, convey the city's firm resolve to cherish and value talents. Today, a growing number of young talents settle along the Yellow River, devoting their youth and pursuing aspirations on this land. They grow alongside the city with mutual dedication, pooling endless youthful vitality for the high-quality development of Lanzhou.
◆Reporter's Notes
Walking through the streets and alleys of Lanzhou and talking face to face with young talents settled here, one can see inspiring scenes of striving everywhere. Doctors devoted to teaching and research, young people returning hometown to start businesses, and graduates on workplace internships have chosen Lanzhou with dreams in their hearts, allowing journalists to truly perceive the city's sincere commitment to cherishing and valuing talents.
From housing subsidies that help young people settle down, to startup loans easing development difficulties, and trainee posts building growth platforms, Lanzhou has broken away from the conventional talent recruitment mindset and provided targeted full-cycle services to support young people's growth. Empty slogans give way to tangible policy benefits and considerate down-to-earth services, effectively solving various problems encountered by young people in housing, employment and entrepreneurship.
Cities spare no effort to build platforms and fulfill dreams, while young people strive with all their strength. Nowadays, a growing number of young people choose to stay by the Yellow River, integrating their personal ideals into the overall urban development. The whole city embraces talents wholeheartedly, and the younger generation builds a new city with dedication. This mutual devotion keeps gathering steady youthful momentum for the high-quality development of Lanzhou.
(Reportage and photos by reporter Zhao Wanshan and intern Deng Miaohui)