A peacock walks in a college library in Southwest China's Yunnan Province and wanders around book shelves. Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by Xinhua News

A peacock in Southwest China's Yunnan Province that strutted into a college library was eventually "persuaded" to leave after wandering around between bookshelves for half an hour, according to a video posted by Pear Video on Friday. 

The peacock, which is owned by the school, flew out of its breeding area earlier that day, explained the librarian. "The library was full of students, but the peacock did not show the slightest fear."

Despite workers' attempts to eject it, the peacock wandered around the bookshelves for half an hour, "as if looking for something interesting to read." It was eventually taken away after running into a campus garden. 

The video soon attracted the attention of Weibo users, with people admiring the peacock's "hardworking" spirit. 

"This is beauty and brains together in one," one netizen commented. 

"What I fear the most has come true - those who are prettier than you are more diligent than you as well," said another.

Some others even made up fantastical stories about the peacock. "It is, in fact, a human being. The reason it broke into the library is that it wanted to look up how to turn back into a human."

Yunnan is famous for its various kinds of colorful peacocks, which embody the beautiful legends of ancient times, and symbolize good luck and fortune. The local Dai ethnic group invented a traditional dance performance based on the movements and postures of the peacock, which has become well known around the world in recent years.