Win a Nobel Prize, get a house in a Beijing suburb for free
- Tongzhou district’s offer is ridiculed online as web users suggest it may be overestimating its appeal to high achievers
A nondescript suburb on the eastern fringes of Beijing has been ridiculed for inviting Nobel Prize winners to come and live there for free.
It is common practice for local governments in China to offer incentives to skilled workers, and Tongzhou’s eye-catching, not to say ambitious, offer was published last week on the district’s official website as part of its wider plans to lure talent to the area.
The document said public housing in three compounds would be allocated to six categories of people who qualified as “high-level talent”.
It said those in the top tier of talent – Nobel Prize winners, Turing Award winners or national academy members – would be given rent-free housing.
The advertisement attracted derision online, with web users suggesting that it was overestimating its appeal by making its offer to Nobel Prize winners – especially as there are only two people in China who qualify at present.
