Offering high salaries to local primary and middle school teachers by the educational authority of Longhua district, Shenzhen of Guangdong province, has attracted thousands of graduates from home and abroad to apply for the positions.

Sources with the Longhua district educational authorities said that 491 candidates out of some 35,000 applicants, of which 86.2 percent are postgraduates or above, would receive physical checks after the first round of recruitment.

The final hires, who will be decided depending on their physical check results, will obtain annual salaries of up to 300,000 yuan ($42,400), according to the local educational authority.

A large number of candidates are from renowned domestic and overseas universities, such as Peking University and the University of Hong Kong.

The local educational authority said the recruitment offering higher salaries would help meet the growing demand for qualified teachers in the district's primary and middle schools.

The booming industrial district of Longhua, in the northern part of Shenzhen, has a large population of more than 3 million residents.

"The recruitment would help boost strength in the educational area," said Shen Yechuan, an official with the Longhua educational authority.

With a growing population, the Longhua district has seen a shortage of educational resources, both in numbers of teachers and compulsory primary and middle schools, according to Shen.