As the autumn semester gets underway, some Chinese cities are turning the annual influx of university freshmen into an opportunity to build ties with potential future residents, rolling out benefits that begin with tourist attractions and shopping discounts but increasingly extend to employment, entrepreneurship and housing support.
Eight Chinese cities — Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Chongqing, Beijing, Xi'an and Nanjing — each have more than 1 million higher education students, according to an Aug 30 report by financial media outlet Yicai.
For cities with large university populations, the effort to retain young people is increasingly beginning well before graduation.
In Sichuan province, authorities launched a province-wide package for university freshmen on Sept 1, covering dining, accommodation, transport, tourism, shopping and entertainment. The benefits will remain available through the end of December.
In the provincial capital Chengdu, 27 major attractions and cultural venues are offering freshmen free admission on their first visit, while up to two accompanying family members can receive half-price tickets.
Jia Zimo, an 18-year-old freshman at Southwest Petroleum University from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, used the city's freshman experience card to visit the Du Fu Thatched Cottage Museum and Wuhou Shrine.
"I was genuinely impressed that so many attractions were included," he said. "It made me feel that Chengdu was really welcoming to students coming from other cities."
The program is designed not only to help freshmen explore Sichuan but also to encourage them to develop a connection with the province and eventually put down roots there.
Similar efforts are underway in Wuhan, where hundreds of thousands of freshmen are arriving this semester. Shopping districts, restaurants, cultural venues and tourist attractions have introduced student benefits designed to help newcomers get to know and integrate into the city.
Universities are also providing practical support. South-Central Minzu University, for example, has converted parts of its gymnasium and student activity center into temporary accommodation for nearly 400 parents accompanying freshmen.
In Wuhan, support for newcomers is also being linked to their longer-term development in the city. An AI-powered smart card issued to 2026 freshmen provides campus guidance and study support while also connecting students with mock interviews and information on employment, entrepreneurship and housing policies, China Central Television reported.
The initiative builds on years of efforts by Wuhan to encourage university students to stay after graduation. Since 2013, the city has rolled out programs ranging from employment and entrepreneurship support to housing assistance, according to Hubei Daily.
More than 27 percent of graduates from Wuhan universities stayed in the city for employment over the past five years, while 314,000 graduates stayed in or moved to Wuhan for work or entrepreneurship in 2025, local authorities said.
Such efforts are also gaining stronger national policy support. In April, 15 central departments issued guidelines on developing youth-friendly cities, calling for better conditions for young people to come to cities, stay, find secure housing and build careers.
The broader policy push suggests that attracting and retaining young people is becoming an increasingly important part of urban development strategies, particularly in cities with large concentrations of universities.
