Big cities luring talent despite drawbacks

Despite heavy smog, skyrocketing house prices and living pressures, China's first-tier cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, are still the top the choices for the best brains.

At the same time, smaller cities trying to attract high-end talent are facing challenges both in recruiting and retention.

Zhaopin.com, a Chinese human resources website, released its list of Best Employers for 2015 on Friday. It showed that 70 percent of the top 100 best employers are located in first-tier cities. Among them, 40 are located in Beijing, 17 in Shanghai, 10 in Shenzhen and four in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.