Niangniangmiao Hanjia is a relatively poor village in Binzhou City, Shandong Province. According to legend, Senior General Han Xin of the Han Dynasty established the village and in the Tang Dynasty, a temple for the imperial concubine was built in this place. Thus the village got its name, which means Lady's Temple.

Currently, 20 women in the village, all over sixty years of age, have bound feet. Centenarian Zhao Jiying is one of them; she was born and raised in this village.

The bounding of women's feet originated in the imperial courts of the Five Dynasties and was introduced to ordinary people in later years. It became popular in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The toes (except the big toe) of girls aged between five and six are bent towards the sole with a long strap of cloth to prevent them from growing. In this way women's feet became a "three-inch golden lotus", similar in appearance to a bamboo shoot. It was on this pair of feet that Zhao Jiying walked for nearly a hundred years.

Zhao Jiying was born in 1894 and her feet were bound when she was seven years old. She was married when she was 17 and gave birth to two sons and one daughter. Her husband died more than fifty years ago and she never remarried. Today she is the head of a family with 60 family members and which has five generations living under the same roof.

When she talks about her bound feet, Zhao Jiying becomes emotional. In those days, it didn't matter if a woman was pretty or ugly, she was a good woman so long as she had bound feet. Bound feet were more important than a woman's talents or personality. A woman without bound feet couldn't find a husband, so most girls were forced to undergo this special torture.

Although Zhao Jiying's mother died when she was still a child, Zhao bound her feet herself. "It was terrible," recalled Zhao. "I could use three days and three nights to tell you about the sufferings I went through when binding my feet. The bone was broken and the flesh got rotten. Even then, a brick had to be put on it to make sure they remained small. I couldn't walk for a year­."

On the first lunar day of 1996, old and young people from the village all went to convey their New Year greetings to Zhao Jiying. Two hours later, Zhao Jiying passed away. Her feet that had borne her through three different historical periods-the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China-were able to rest after 102 years.