With a salary of 1178 dollars. A sheep herder job in Mongolia becomes a 'trend'

 An ad for a sheep herding job in Mongolia has garnered millions of views in China, after hundreds of people applied for work in a remote area.

An advertisement for a job to care for sheep in remote pastures in southern Mongolia has become the focus of widespread interaction in China, after it topped the lists of the most trending topics on social media platforms within hours, revealing the growing pressures facing the Chinese labor market.

Sheep Shepherd Employment Announcement

According to Reuters, Chinese farm owner Zhu Xiaoyong published the announcement in late April, asking for sheep herders to work on a pasture that spans nearly 2,000 hectares, to care for 3,000 sheep during the summer, as well as to carry out grueling feeding and cleaning work in the winter, when temperatures drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius.

The surprise came in the volume of demand for the job, after more than 700 people applied for the two jobs, including employees from the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing, as well as factory workers and recent university graduates.

The ad also recorded more than 59 million views on China's Weibo platform in just a few hours, with more than 21,000 related discussions.

A phenomenon reveals China's work environment

Zhu Xiaoyong said he did not expect the advertisement to become a widespread phenomenon, explaining that a large number of applicants spoke about their debt suffering, harsh work pressures, long working hours, and the exhaustion caused by competitive work environments.

Economic analysts say the phenomenon reflects a growing sense of frustration among Chinese workers, both white-collar and blue-collar, under the "996" work culture, which is based on working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week.

Although the job requires living in an isolated area with a harsh climate, the monthly salary of 8,000 yuan, equivalent to about $1,178, along with housing and food, seemed tempting to many, especially since the average wage in private companies in Chinese cities is less than that amount.

Appointment of four sponsors

At the conclusion of the recruitment process, the farm owner decided to hire four sponsors, including a couple with previous experience in agricultural work, stressing that the ability to withstand isolation and harsh winter conditions was the main factor in the selection, adding: "This is not a place for tourism, you may not see other people for a whole year."