Chinese city looking for 'modern-day Marco Polo' to promote 'world's most beautiful city' online
Washington, Mar. 15 : A Chinese city is seeking a 'Modern Day Marco Polo' to discover the city's most tourism-worthy places and tweet about them.
The 'job', offered by Hangzhou Tourism Commission, apparently demands a person to do nothing more than broadening one's cultural experiences over the course of a year and spreading them via social media.
According to CNN, the person will be offered 51,870 US dollars for the job.
The job duties include starring in a promotional video of Hangzhou and being the city's overseas tourism promotional advisor, the report said.
He or she will also promote the city through videos, photos and feeds on various social media platforms.
Applicants are required to register via their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts. Twitter and Facebook are blocked in China.
Once registered, applicants are expected to show off their 'Chinese spirit' by finishing at least one of four online tasks: "My Chinese Name," "My Hangzhou Costume," "My Hangzhou Recipe" and "My Hangzhou Love Story."
The winner will be determined by the number of interactions and activity ("likes," tweets etc) each applicant generates on social media platforms.
According to state news agency Xinhua, the job listing on Facebook has already attracted numerous foreign applicants.
All were able to speak Mandarin fluently and, perhaps more importantly, showed off a glowing affection for Hangzhou.
The chosen candidate, who will be announced next year, will receive a free cultural tour to the city for 15 days.
The real Marco Polo described Hangzhou as "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world" when he visited 700 years ago, according to Hangzhou Tourism Commission.