 Chinese women have now discovered that beautiful hands are realizable assets. A new career invites those with shapely hands: that of hand model. This nascent profession has great prospects, as images involving hands are essential in the advertising business for promotion of such products as jewelry, watches and cell phones. Certain film stars also employ stand-ins for hand close-ups.
Chinese people have never before devoted so much attention to their hands. This may be due partly to a recent case of dog assault, in which the plaintiff sustained a dog bite that left her with a permanent scar. As she was a hand model for a manicure products company, earning no less than 3,000 yuan per advertisement, the court ruled that the dog's owner pay the victim 90,000 yuan in compensation. The case caused a public sensation, generating invaluable publicity for the company. It subsequently received applications for jobs and training from young hopefuls across the country, from which just 17 trainees, of the age range 15 to 34 years old, and from various walks of life, were selected. The successful applicants received instruction on hand care, physical fitness, color sense, zheng (a traditional Chinese music instrument) playing skills, and general deportment.
 Desirable hands measure up to defined standards. Fingers are long, straight and fleshy with small joints, and palms small and smooth. Delicate hands require meticulous care. Gloves should be worn outdoors and dirty work avoided. But handsome hands are not all that required, as the young lady concerned must also have the pleasing facial and physical attributes expected of any model.
The training director is ambitious and optimistic about the courses offered, saying, "We aim to cultivate world-class hand models, and so promote hand aestheticism in China."
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