"Healthy Men Can Earn 15 Million Won by Lying in Bed for 60 Days"...Is This a "Dream Job"? Conditions at China's Astronaut Center Revealed

China's Astronaut Center Recruits Experiment Participants
Mobile Phone Use Allowed During the Experiment

China's astronaut training center is making headlines by recruiting participants for an experiment in which they must remain lying in bed for up to two months. Participants can receive a stipend of up to approximately 15 million won.

According to Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily on May 7, the China Astronaut Research and Training Center announced via its official WeChat social media account the previous day that it is recruiting applicants for the “Dixing-3” ground bed rest experiment project.

Applicants will participate in the experiment by remaining in bed for 15 days, 30 days, or up to 60 days. Upon completing the experiment, participants will receive a stipend ranging from 20,000 yuan (about 4.26 million won) to a maximum of 70,000 yuan (about 14.9 million won), depending on the duration.

This project is an experiment designed to study the effects of low gravity environments on the human body. China is accelerating its so-called “space ambition” with a goal of landing its own astronauts on the moon before 2030. To this end, it has announced plans to develop next-generation crewed lunar exploration vehicles, new manned spacecraft, and lunar landers.

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This experiment is attracting attention as it offers a high stipend in a short period of time, but the process is expected to be challenging. Participants must perform all activities—including eating, washing, sleeping, urination, and defecation—while maintaining a posture with their head tilted 6 degrees downward or upward. Those assigned to the exercise group must also carry out exercises while lying down according to prescribed procedures. However, activities such as reading or using a mobile phone are reportedly permitted during the experiment.

The eligibility criteria are also strict. The recruitment is limited to healthy Chinese men aged 30 to 55, with a height between 160 and 175 centimeters. In addition, applicants must adhere to the party's policies and directives, and their family members must support their participation in the experiment.

Meanwhile, this recruitment notice has generated considerable interest online, coinciding with the spread of the “tangping” (“lying flat”) phenomenon in Chinese society. Tangping refers to a mindset among young people worn out by excessive competition and long working hours, where they give up competing and seek to maintain only the minimum standard of living. Some interpret this as a form of passive resistance against society. Chinese netizens responded by saying, “You can earn money and contribute to the country by lying flat.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.