An aerial picture of the landmark Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei province.[Photo by Zhou Guoqiang/For China Daily]

Drones using loudspeakers to remind people to wear masks and spraying disinfectant are no longer confined to science fiction. They are being used across China amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

Drone filming isn't easy, though. Days of work from design to editing are behind every few minutes of video.

During one shoot inside a factory, a crane suddenly moved and hit his hovering drone.

"I can't imagine what would have happened if the drone had fallen and hit us," Liu says.

He loves his "dream job", especially when his friends praise his works.

"I have a higher income and more free time for fitness and reading," he says.

Liu's occupation was included as one of 13 new professions identified by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Most of the new occupations are related to emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data.

"Rapidly developing technology is creating new jobs while weeding out outdated professions," says Chinese Academy of Social Sciences expert Zhang Yi.

"The emergence of a new occupation, which may have taken more than a century in the past, now takes place every year."