Chinese Woman Quits High-Paying Job to Work on Remote Uninhabited Island

**Islamabad:** A Chinese woman has left her successful corporate career behind to start a new life working on a remote, uninhabited island, seeking peace away from the pressures of city life.

Yu Li, who previously worked as a senior manager at a major company in Beijing for two decades, began working in December 2025 on Dongzai, an uninhabited island located in the East China Sea. She now earns a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan.

According to her social media posts, Yu Li works as a quality inspector at a fish feeding base on the island. Her responsibilities include checking fish-feeding equipment, recording water temperatures and sea wave activity, and monitoring fish growth.

The island is surrounded by several other uninhabited islands, with the nearest populated area located about 40 kilometers away.

Explaining her decision, Yu Li said she left her well-paying managerial position due to extreme work pressure. “I was on business trips for about 300 days a year. Even when I was in Beijing, I spent nearly four hours daily commuting between home and office. At one point, my physical and mental health suffered significantly,” she said.

She added that she began questioning whether that was the life she truly wanted. Later, she came across a job advertisement for the island position in Zhejiang province and decided to apply, as she had grown tired of the fast-paced urban lifestyle.

“I wanted to spend more time reading, watching sunsets, and being by the sea,” she said.

However, Yu Li admitted that living alone on an uninhabited island has not been without challenges. After a month, the isolation began to feel difficult. At one point, strong winds prevented her from lighting a fire to cook, and she also had to deal with a large number of rats on the island.

Despite these hardships, she says she is enjoying her new life, as it gives her ample time to focus on her favorite hobbies and personal well-being.