China Attraction Offers Job To Dress As Monkey King & Be Fed By Tourists For RM3,900/Month
Monkey business.
By Tamara Jayne — 17 Jan 2024, 10:29 AM
Imagine dressing as your favourite character, sitting in a cave, and being fed for work.
Sound like a dream? Well, we're not monkeying around.
The Wuzhishan Scenic Area, a popular sightseeing destination in China, recently announced a job listing for a Monkey King impersonator, and it has been going viral.
For 6,000 yuan (RM3,900) a month, all you need to do is don a monkey suit, relax in a cave at the bottom of a mountain, and enjoy food served by tourists.
"There are no academic requirements," a manager at the site told Shangyou News, as reported by CNN.
"The main requirements are having a passion for the [character], a certain talent for acting, and the ability to be lively, cheerful, approachable to interact with tourists," he added.
Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong, is a legendary character in Chinese mythology and literature
He's a central figure in the classic Chinese novel, Journey to the West, which was written by Wu Cheng'en during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century.
Born from stone, Sun Wukong possesses superhuman strength and the remarkable ability to morph into 72 different animals and objects. The main character's quest is to embark on adventures to retrieve sacred scriptures from India.
The Monkey King impersonator's main job at the tourist spot is to happily accept snacks from visitors, including apples, instant noodles, and lots of bananas
But don't worry. You won't need to devour every single food offered. The manager said that actors usually save some of the items to share with their colleagues after the shift.
Work hours are 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm every day, 8world reported.
According to the manager, the site already has two other impersonators playing the character, and they just need one more person to fill an extra role.
He also mentioned that 6,000 yuan is just the base salary and will be adjusted according to the employees' performance.
The Straits Times reported that since the job listing went viral, the tourist destination has announced free entry for all visitors from 8 January to 8 February.