Do you enjoy wide open spaces, fresh air and all the cuteness you can handle? Then being a panda nanny might just be the job for you. It was certainly the right choice for Zhang Meng, who works in the panda hall at the Siberia Tiger Park in Northeast China’s Jilin Province.

Panda nannies are expected to feed, clean, and look after pandas around the clock. “Taking care of pandas requires love, patience and diligence(勤奋),” he said. “You have to make them comfortable around humans, so paying attention to all the small details is key. Such details include cutting apples into very small pieces and getting any body smell out, because pandas have very sensitive senses of smell and hearing. They don’t eat food from strangers. You have to earn their trust, one bite of apple at a time.”

While it might seem like great fun to play with panda babies all day, Zhang said the day-to-day work can actually be quite challenging. Every day, he has to prepare and carry dozens of kilograms of bamboo for Jia Jia and Meng Meng, the two pandas at the park he looks after. He also has to clean their living quarters and feed them vitamin-infused cornbread, as well as various vegetables and fruits four times a day.

Zhang has been a panda nanny for several years, since Jia Jia and Meng Meng arrived from Sichuan Province in 2015. When the pandas first arrived, they were not used to the weather here, but with the help of panda keepers from Sichuan, the park tried the best to help the pandas to feel at home.