INNER MONGOLIA — Zuo Xiaoyong, a 45-year-old sheep farm owner in Inner Mongolia, received more than 1,000 job applications within 48 hours after posting an advertisement in April for a two-person herding position offering a combined monthly salary of 16,000 yuan ($2,400) with free food, accommodation, and Wi-Fi. The job, which went viral on Chinese social media platform Weibo with one hashtag accumulating 59 million views, required herding, feeding, and counting 3,000 sheep across nearly 50 square miles using a horse or motorbike and involved minimal human interaction.
Zuo ultimately hired a couple with prior shepherding experience, offering them a total annual salary of approximately 200,000 yuan ($30,000). “Two people could keep each other company and work efficiently as a team,” he said. He rejected a recent university graduate in his early 20s from southern China out of concern the young man would not endure the isolation. “I told him that if you work here, there are literally no people — let alone women. You won’t even be able to find a girlfriend.” “He told me he wanted to find a job and make money first.”
About 10% of applicants held university degrees. “Most applicants are farmers, factory workers and recent graduates from major Chinese cities.” The surge in interest occurred as China’s urban youth unemployment rate stood at 16.3%, and a record 12.7 million students graduated from Chinese universities that year.
Stuart Gietel-Basten, professor of social science and public policy, described the situation as symptomatic of broader labor market pressures. “There is a mismatch between skills, expectations and available opportunities.” “Work is also becoming more difficult — long hours, low security.” He added, “When young people graduate and don’t have much to show for it, it’s very demoralizing.”
Gietel-Basten noted that for many young people in mainland China, marriage and childbearing are no longer immediate priorities. “They want to get started in life first, but life feels uncertain and risky.” Zuo observed a shift in young people’s attitudes, saying, “I feel like nowadays young people are not eager to get married at all. Their mindset has changed a lot.” Official data showed Chinese marriage registrations declined by 6.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of the year.
Some applicants viewed the herding job as an escape. “Dream job because it can help me stay away from the pretentious people in the city and live a simple life.” Another said, “Dealing with sheep is easier than dealing with people!” Zuo emphasized the work’s demands: “There are no arguments or deception here, no complicated workplace relationships like in the big companies. Only cattle and sheep.”