A county in eastern China’s Zhejiang province has landed in hot water after spending over US$1 million of public funds on hosting an episode of a hit television show, sparking public backlash at a time when regions across China are grappling with an economic slowdown and mounting fiscal pressures.

Jiangshan – a small county that until last year was listed among the least developed in Zhejiang – spent 8.5 million yuan (US$1.26 million) to get the team behind the reality TV show Keep Running to film an episode in the area, according to a government procurement notice circulated by Chinese media.

The project was likely intended to boost the county’s profile and attract tourists – a growing focus among China’s local governments amid a national drive to develop the services sector and boost domestic consumption. The show is the Chinese version of Running Man, the massively popular South Korean reality format.

But the scale of taxpayer support has come under scrutiny, with many users on Chinese social media questioning whether the project will really boost spending and arguing the money would have been better spent on providing much-needed local services.

“With 8.5 million yuan, you could fund local infrastructure, provide subsidies for the elderly and children, pay teachers and healthcare workers, or even help stabilise prices – all of that would be better than giving it to a production team,” one user posted on the microblogging platform Weibo.

“This is how taxpayers’ money is being spent. What did the show actually achieve? How much consumption did it really generate?”