A mother is showing her daughter how to draw a grain painting. [Photo/asianews.com]

Shoudong village, formerly designated as a poor provincial level village in Central China's Hebei province, is no longer so thanks to its grain art economy.

By introducing a grain art enterprise, unemployment has greatly reduced - over 200 women were hired as "painters" to produce grain paintings.

In only two years, the village has been listed by China's Ministry of Culture as one of the top 10 most beautiful villages, and a 3A tourist site in Hebei province.