Want a getaway from the hustle and bustle of urban life? For those looking to be closer to nature, a newspaper in eastern China's Zhejiang Province reported that islands in the region are recruiting bird watchers for the upcoming breeding season. 

There are six roles open, with two involving commuting between islands every day, and four requiring the individual to live on the inhabited islands of Jiushan for 50 days. Experience in bird watching and photography is preferred.

Successful candidates will be responsible for logging bird species, the number of birds they see, locations, breeding conditions, their predators, as well as human being’s interference between April 25 to June 16, or June 15 to August 5. Daily salary is 200 yuan (about 32 US dollars). 

This is the second year Zhejiang Province has launched this type of recruiting campaign. Dr. Chen Shuihua with Zhejiang Museum of Natural History said “last year we’ve received more than 300 applicants from across the country. I didn’t expect so many people are willing to protect Chinese Crested Tern (which is listed as critically endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature) on sea islands with hard living conditions.”

Last year, bird enthusiast Zhang Peng successfully landed a job working on the island. He said even though it was a temporary job, it remains an eternal memory for him, “I cherished every day there. It was a valuable life experience. I saw the challenges there as fun. For example, I invented a way to preserve fresh meat for a week since there was no refrigerator due to power shortage. Plus, life there was rather dull and simple as phone signals were poor, but I took the time to observe animals and plants."

Dr. Chen Shuihua said living condition has been improving this year, as they’ve successfully planted vegetables such as cucumbers and peppers. “It sounded like a poetic job, but in fact, it is a difficult one. Food and water are transported from the mainland, with short supply of meat. It sometimes takes more than two weeks to take a shower. ” 

Anyone interested in the jobs can send their CVs to luyw@zmnh.com by April 10, 2018.