A tourist resort on Mount Laojunshan in China advertised for an unusual temporary position: "Cloud Observer." The position would involve photographing cloudscapes and natural phenomena on the mountain from early morning until late evening for use in the resort's promotional materials. The position offered a salary of 60 thousand yuan and free accommodation for the duration of the assignment.

Laojun Mountain is classified as a 5A-level tourist attraction, but remains closed to foreigners due to its proximity to a military base.

The ad quickly went viral after its publication, with social media users calling the position a "dream job" and a "fairy job." Within a week, more than 3500 people responded, submitting video applications with the specified hashtags. Later, the administration announced that the winner—"Cloud Watcher No. 001"—was a user named @xiaozao, Li Sichen. The selection was based on the number of likes and reposts of his video, as well as the quality of the content.

The 23-year-old blogger from Henan Province, a recent e-commerce graduate, beat out numerous professional photographers to land the job.

After completing the assignment, Li remarked, "Time flies."

He says he's mastered a variety of skills during this time, including video shooting and editing, color correction, and drone operation. He admits to initially feeling anxious, worried that his videos wouldn't gain popularity online.

Lee rose every day at 5 a.m. and filmed from early dawn until late dusk, incorporating lighting effects to capture as many shots as possible from different angles. He also admitted that the bad weather was "excruciating."

While the tourist attraction owns the copyright to his cloudscape footage, Lee also shared vlogs about his daily work and emotional experiences on his personal account, which now has more than 6000 followers.

Lee expressed gratitude for his video application going viral, but despite completing his work, he still doesn't consider himself an "influencer." He plans to look for a permanent job while maintaining his social media account.

A Laojunshan Mountain representative surnamed Zhang stated that the company may recruit "cloud watchers" again in the future. He explained that while they already have full-time videographers on staff, the company needs a "third set of eyes"—a fresh perspective on their usual footage.