China offers 'most fun job' in Sichuan panda base

A panda is playing in this January, 2014 file photo in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - If you are willing to come to southwest China's Ya'an to look after pandas for a year at the Bifengxia Base of China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, the most fun job in China is awaiting you with an annual pay of 200,000 yuan ($32,576), an SUV for transport for a year, and free working meals and accommodations.

The recruitment process in Beijing officially started on Saturday, with one of the organizers, club.sohu.com, calling the job as a "Chinese version of island caretaker of the Great Barrier Reef."

"Many people at our center do the same job, but the salary was never that high," said Heng Yi, a publicity official at the center. But he thinks the recruitment is necessary.

"We want more people to pay attention to giant pandas' protection work and participate," said Heng. So far, most people know that giant pandas are China's national treasures but they do not know how to protect them.

Current volunteers at the center are mostly from Japan, Europe and the US, according to Heng.

Ye Mingxin, a market manager from a Ford company in China, said he did not think the job was easy.

"You need perseverance for this job. The applicants will be mainly white-collars from the big cities of China, we expect. They can eat whatever they want usually, but inside the giant panda base, the choices will not be many," Ye said.

People can apply for the job at http://fun.sohu.com. Activities will also be held in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou for candidates selection. The activities will last until July 15.