Liu Xiang, a 110-meter hurdles Olympic gold medalist and one of China's best-known athletes, has a new title: deputy secretary of the Communist Youth League of Shanghai Sports Bureau, officials have said.

The 28-year-old star posted photos of his new nameplate and working lunch on his microblog on Thursday, which attracted thousands of comments and reposts.

But unlike his other title as a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body, his new role does not require his active duty, nor pays him any salary, according to Li Yuyi, the bureau director. He does not even have to go to the office.

Li said Liu is still a professional athlete, not a government official, and his new title is more an honor than an actual position. "It has been a tradition of the bureau's youth league," Li said. "All the league's committee members are the best athletes of the city."