Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial hub, is home to an abundance of financial institutions and aspires to attract top financial professionals. [Photo/VCG]

Shanghai's Lujiazui Financial City is set to start its annual talent recruitment drive in September.

The Lujiazui Talent Recruitment project has taken place annually since 2009. Each September, local financial institutions and related enterprises launch job fairs at top universities across China.

The project aims to attract the best university graduates from all over the country to work in Lujiazui, boost the area's financial industry, and contribute to Shanghai's goal of becoming an international financial center.

The initiative has developed into one of the financial district's most important recruitment projects and has become essential to many Shanghai companies.

This year's recruitment drive will stage events at 26 universities in nine cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan.

The first destination will be New York University Shanghai on Sept 15, where companies will compete to attract outstanding foreign graduates.

Other destinations include Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tongji University, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Wuhan University, Nanjing University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Central University of Finance and Economics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, and other schools with respected finance departments.

Companies exhibiting at the fairs will include finance, shipping, headquarters economy, professional services, and cultural businesses.