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Nanjing man a 'best job' finalist

TOURISTS -- and virtual travelers -- to Australia's Great Barrier Reef may be greeted by a Chinese promotional ambassador this summer.

A Nanjing man has been selected among the final 16 candidates for the "Best Job in the World" -- a six-month assignment to swim, explore and relax on Hamilton Island while writing a blog to promote the reef region.

The campaign offers the island caretaker a A$150,000 (US$107,000) contract for six months beginning on July 1.

Thirty-year-old Yao Yi from the capital city of Jiangsu Province has started preparation for the final competition in Australia on May 6.

His rivals will include students, media professionals, a receptionist, a teacher, charity event manager and an actress.

A Taiwan candidate also won a public poll to qualify as a wild-card finalist.

Yesterday morning, Australia's tourism minister, Peter Lawlor, telephoned the 15 - from Europe to North America, Asia, New Zealand and Australia - to tell them to start packing for their journey to Hamilton Island for the final selection process.

"The best job in the world campaign has had the world talking since its launch on January 11, and this is the moment the 50 short-listed candidates (announced on March 2) have been eagerly awaiting," Lawlor said.

In all, 34,000 applied for the position.

Tourism Queensland, the promotion's sponsor, originally planned to select just 10 candidates but that proved to be a difficult choice so the field was expanded to 15.

Another Chinese mainland resident, Yu Ying, a media worker and documentary filmmaker from Beijing, did not make the final cut.

Yao and the rest of the Top 15 will join the previously announced wild card candidate, Clare Wang from Taiwan for the final selection.

Yao, who works for Procter and Gamble in Guangzhou and is single, said he is confident about the final competition.

"As far as I'm concerned, China is the second-biggest tourist resource for the reef, and they may need me," Yao said. "Of course this will not be the vital factor, and I will try my best to win."

Yao's hobbies include diving and underwater photography.




 

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