Where to go is question for job seekers

While millions of people from the rural peripheries continue to flood into the booming metropolises in the hope of securing a better education, a better job and a better life, a growing group of burnt-out white collars are retreating to the smaller cities in search of a more relaxed lifestyle.

Mostly, they are out-of-town degree-holders, aged around 30, with at least a year's work experience in big cities like Beijing.

A survey conducted by China's leading online job-search website Zhaopin.com in April revealed that more than 80 percent of the 7,000 Chinese white collar respondents in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, answered "yes" to the question: "Would you like to work in a second or third-tier city if given an offer there?"