A retired Chinese couple have advertised for a "daughter" to look after them in place of their son who has emigrated to Canada -- and more than 100 candidates signed up to try their luck, a newspaper said on Tuesday.

Tian Zhendong and Ding Shuhui, a former construction expert and a university professor from central Wuhan, felt "lonely and lost" after their only son moved to Canada with his wife, even though he called home every week, the Guangzhou Daily said.

But he didn't want to come back to China.

"I regret letting him leave," the newspaper quoted mother Ding as saying.

The couple used to visit their son in Canada, but they could not get used to life there, it said.

After six years of loneliness, the couple decided to seek a daughter to be with them and look after them, who would be given an apartment if she passed the trial period of three years.

"We are not looking for a maid, but someone to be with us until we are dead," father Tian was quoted as saying.

The "fierce competition" was entering its final stage as the couple were expected to choose the final winner from the last five candidates soon, the newspaper said.