·Bound Feet Women In Liuyi Village Of Yunnan Province

TONGHAI COUNTY, CHINA - APRIL 2: (CHINA OUT) 82-year-old bound feet woman Fu Jifen, makes 'Three Cuns Golden Lotus' shoes at Liuyi Village on April 2, 2007 in Tonghai County of Yunnan Province, China. 'Three Cuns Golden Lotus' is a term used to describe ancient Chinese women's bound feet, in which three 'cuns' are about 3.39 inches. Liuyi Village is known as the 'Bound Feet Women Village,' where over 100 female senior citizens with bound feet and over the age of 70 live. The Chinese custom of foot binding under the feudalization, which started during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) , was discontinued in the early 20th century.

Foot binding or Bound feet in China

Foot binding (simplified Chinese: 缠足; literally "bound feet") was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century.

Foot-binding resulted in lifelong disabilities for most of its victims. As the practice waned in the early 20th century, "some girls' feet were released after initial binding, leaving less severe deformities," according to a study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco. However, some effects of foot-binding were permanent, especially if a girl's arches or toes had been broken or other drastic measures taken in order to achieve the desired smallness. In the 1990s and early 2000s, some elderly (born until mid-1940s) Chinese women still suffered from disabilities related to bound feet.