One aspect of the Chinese culture that I find particularly interesting is of the practice of foot binding. Foot binding is a very old Chinese practice in which young girls would bind their feet in order to make them smaller. It was first practiced among the wealthy, but it quickly spread throughout most of the Chinese population. Having small feet was not only a sign of physical beauty to these young girls, but it was also a status symbol and a way for them to marry into money. Foot binding was a very painful practice that usually began at the age of five with the child's mother binding their feet until they would break. The young girls' feet were preferred to be around 3 inches long, which made it very hard for them to move around. This horrible practice was ultimately banned, but millions of young girls would still bind their feet anyway. Today, foot binding is not very common in the Chinese culture but it can still be seen among some of the older Chinese women.

Source:
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2142-history-chinese-foot-binding