Petite art major down on the farm

"Raising pigs is a lot like painting. They require both delicate and bold handwork," says Chen Juan, whose blog on her experiences as a pig farmer has been drawing much online traffic since last August.

Chen studied art design at the Hunan Women's University but struggled to find a suitable job after graduating last year. When she saw an advertisement for a pig keeper by a pig production base in Wangcheng county near Changsha, capital of Hunan, she shot off her application.

Recalling his interview with Chen Juan, the official in charge of the base, Fu Zhenjian, says: