A job listing for herding 3,000 sheep across roughly 2,000 hectares of grassland in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region recently went viral in the country, drawing interest predominantly among young people.

Posted last month on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the job calls for a husband-and-wife shepherd team to relocate to a ranch roughly 300 kilometers from Xilinhot City. The position for two provides a monthly salary of 16,000 yuan (roughly $2,400) and includes food, accommodation in a traditional Mongolian yurt, and requires them to stay on the ranch year-round. The monthly average salary for jobs in Inner Mongolia’s private sector is around 5,000 yuan, and 10,000 yuan in the public sector.

The company commented below the post that it had received thousands of online inquiries, including from couples and singles working in major cities, and that of the 14 couples shortlisted for video interviews, more than half were born after 1990. A couple from northern China born in the 1980s was selected on May 9 to fill the role. They are reported to have experience herding sheep, and have begun work under a one-year contract. 

The company’s owner, surnamed Zuo, explained his conception of the role to domestic media. “Basically, the man does the physical labor of herding and feeding, while the woman handles logistical work such as cooking,” he said.

According to Zuo, the work is more manageable in the summer, as the sheep mostly live free-range. But during the nearly half-year-long winter, temperatures can fall below minus 40 degrees Celsius, and workers must feed the flock twice a day, in addition to using farm equipment to move hundreds of bags of animal feed, each weighing roughly 200 kilograms. Mobile phone signals are weak or unavailable in some areas, and human contact is limited.

After it was posted, the recruitment ad soon went viral, with one related hashtag on microblogging platform Weibo garnering over 44 million views and a news segment about it attracting more than 50,000 comments on Douyin. One Douyin user wrote, “Anyone want to go as a group? I really want to escape this cutthroat city.” 

“My husband and I want to go,” wrote another. “Our factory went bankrupt, and we need jobs to pay off our debts. We’re willing to endure hardship and loneliness. We have a Border Collie we’d take with us, as well as previous management experience that we could put to good use in herding sheep.”

However, others noted the job’s extreme physical demands and isolation. One applicant told domestic media that after learning about a shepherd’s daily work, he realized managing thousands of sheep would not be easy, highlighting the need to help birthing ewes.

A shepherd recruiter from Ordos City in Inner Mongolia told domestic media that although the job’s monthly salary seems attractive, the successful applicants would be responsible for a relatively large flock. He also noted that shepherds in remote areas often have limited access to transportation and must endure harsh living conditions, with work continuing year-round, rain or shine.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)