Carving out a fruitful career

Zhu was thrown off in the first lesson, when Xu asked her to sharpen the carving tools. "I was like why not cut to the chase and teach me how to carve right away," she says.

It didn't take long before Zhu realized how hard the natural fruit pits were and that it took far more than just finger strength to carve into them.

Even with the sharpened tools, it takes a long time of practicing to understand the use of the tools and to get a knack for coordinating the hands, she says.

The complexity of the art aroused Zhu's enthusiasm.

She made the decision to come back to Guangfu after graduation.

"I had doubts, especially after seeing my classmates landing jobs in big cities," she says.

"But after further thought, I knew I had to do something I wanted."

Zhu then officially became Xu's apprentice and systematically explored the craftsmanship of fruit pit carving.

It's no easy job making the carvings and telling whole stories on the small pits.

It takes multiple steps from selection of the fruit pit, to the design, drawing and carving－including the various techniques that cover gouging, polishing and scraping.

A dozen tools have to be applied, including files, burins and hand drills. "You can't skip a step, and the carving has to be meticulous and precise," Zhu says.

"A small slip, or a tiny error, will be magnified and throw things back to the drawing board."

Zhu admits that she was a bit impatient in the beginning.