Graduates find first-tier cities still appealing

First-tier cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai are becoming more popular among university graduates, according to a recent employment survey.

The survey, conducted by ChinaHR.com, a human resources service provider, polled about 32,000 university graduates nationwide. It showed 63 percent of respondents hope to stay in first-tier cities for at least one year after graduation this year. In 2011, the figure was 38 percent.

Liu Xingyang, a senior consultant at the agency, said graduates now feel this way mainly because of the increasing return of people to big cities after hoping to settle in lower-cost small cities.