Visitors watch 'Strong Pig' at Sichuan Earthquake Memorial Museum near Chengdu, Sichuan province. Wang Kaihao / China Daily

Six clones of 'Strong Pig' are produced in Guangdong province. Provided to China Daily

Zhu Jianqiang - aka 'Strong Pig' - survived 36 days on just charcoal and rainwater after the Sichuan earthquake and has become a symbol of hope. Wang Kaihao goes out in the field to find out more.

Sichuan province has a pig almost as famous as the star of the 1995 movie Babe. Although the pig in question hasn't turned to shepherding to avoid being turned into bacon, she has managed to become a superstar and avoid the dinner table. Zhu Jianqiang - aka "Strong Pig" - got her nickname after the devastating 8.0-magnitude Sichuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. She survived for 36 days after being buried under debris in Pengzhou, 38 km from Chengdu, surviving on just charcoal and rainwater.

Fan Jianchuan, who has a museum complex in Anren town on the outskirts of Chengdu, purchased Zhu Jianqiang from Pengzhou villager Wan Xingming for about 13,000 yuan ($2,047). That was well above the 1,000 yuan cost of a normal 50-kg hog, which was what the pig weighed after being found in the rubble by a soldier.

Even so, Fan was happy to pay the money for the now internationally famous pig and exhibited her at his Sichuan Earthquake Memorial Museum.

The pig was found alive under debris in Pengzhou, Sichuan province. Provided to China Daily

"It was a miracle that demonstrated the spirit to live, the kind of spirit that was required in such a disastrous situation," Fan says. "So, I paid the money to mark the tragedy and encourage people to rebuild. I never expected a pig could be such a huge celebrity."

This 4-year-old sow has the life of a white-collar worker at the museum, getting up about 10 am and knocking off work at 5 pm. But since it's a cushy job she also manages to sneak in a couple of naps during office hours. No one minds.

Museum employees prepare a corn cake and hold a small party on each anniversary of the date she was rescued.

The museum attracts 1 million visitors a year. And, of course, Strong Pig is the star attraction. She seems to have recovered totally from the post-traumatic stress of the earthquake and pays little notice to the crowds, who take photos of her all day long.

"Our big star has a good temperament and likes being close to people," says Wang Fuqing, who has principal responsibility for taking care of the pig. "She sometimes sniffs visitors' backpacks out of curiosity."

"But she's hard to get up in the morning," the 60-year-old continues. "Only when I repeatedly call on her to stand up will she do so, after grunting for a while."

At 3 pm every day, Strong Pig gets her salary: 1 kg of leftovers from villagers' dining tables.

"We don't feed her artificial food, which may contain additives and is not good for her health," Wang says.

Now weighing in at 225 kg, the porker has been on a diet for two months, as she used to have two dinners a day. Although the pig's left leg was injured in the quake and hasn't fully mended, she is taken for a 1-km stroll twice every day so that she gets enough exercise, too.

While walking, Zhu Jianqiang passes a forest, where she answers the call of nature and roots around for a snack of roots and leaves.

Not everyone, however, is a fan of the pig.

"In such a solemn place where we memorialize the victims of the earthquake, it feels inappropriate to have this pig as entertainment," Liu Wei, a visitor from Liaoning province, says.

He still takes a photo of the celebrity pig, which topped the list of the "10 most inspiring animals of 2008" in an Internet poll. She has made TV appearances, had poems composed in her honor and a Sino-Japanese animated movie is in the works.

The story of Strong Pig has been widely quoted by Chinese media to encourage businesses that had problems in the financial crisis. And her name has been linked with high oil and house prices.

Wang says her veterinarian believes she is healthy and could live for 20 years, but she won't have piglets because she was sterilized shortly after birth.

Scientists from a biotech company in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, took DNA from Strong Pig in February and cloned her.

Six clones were produced in September, in Guangdong, and each of them has the same black birthmark between their eyes as their celebrity mom.

Two of them will return to the museum. Strong Pig's keeper, Wang, couldn't be happier.

"I don't exactly know what a clone is, but I think it's a fantastic way of prolonging the existence of Strong Pig," Wang says, smiling.