Chinese women are increasingly embracing strength sports such as boxing and weightlifting, as society's idea of beauty moves from the long-standing ideal of being "pale, slim, and youthful" towards a more empowered and individualistic self-image. 

On Xiaohongshu, China's version of Instagram, hashtags like “female bodybuilder” and “muscle woman” have accumulated hundreds of millions of views. 

Popular posts feature women proudly showing off their muscular physiques and sharing their fitness regimens, highlighting a growing embrace of fitness among Chinese women. 

Xie Tong, a 29-year old who balances her career in finance with a passion for bodybuilding, says weightlifting isn’t just about physical strength - it’s a pathway to freedom. 

“I worked out to conform to other people's aesthetics, to become thinner, as a kind of physical punishment, and it was something I forced myself to do. Then I would walk to the gym with heavy steps every day, it was a very painful thing," she said after a workout session at a gym in Beijing's Central Business District, ahead of an upcoming bodybuilding contest. 

"Now I don't do this for others. I don’t feel forced by society to go this way, not trapped. I don’t feel trapped by the dream of being a beautiful woman," she said. 

Xie's mother, 63 year-old Xie Bin, said she had seen a shift in social acceptance of women's fitness in her own lifetime. 

"As for girls, if they would often jump the rope or run around outdoors, the family or the neighbours would say 'look at this crazy girl'. That is, there used to be sort of rules or restrictions to restrain girls' behaviour," she said after meeting her daughter at the gym. "Nowadays is it's different. It's completely different." 

Just a few blocks further south, A-Nan, a 35-year-old boxing trainer and owner of Nan Boxing Club, says she has seen a significant rise in female members at her gym. Not only is the proportion of female members higher, but women are signing up at a faster rate than men. 

According to Nan, the majority of her female members hail from high-achieving professional backgrounds such as finance, law, and accounting. Boxing is just another way to challenge themselves, she says. 

The modern preference for “pale, slim and youthful” only emerged under the influence of the international modelling industry, particularly among young women, said Professor Wu Xiaoying, a sociologist focused on family and gender studies. But while that ideal of female beauty still exists, there is growing acceptance of alternatives. 

"The aesthetic view nowadays is becoming more neutral, that is, some people pursue the slim, pale and petite look. Most people who pursue this look are affected by male’s views. But many women are willing to wear more gender-neutral clothes now, so I say that in terms of aesthetics, China has become more diversified in recent years, which is a good thing, I think," Wu said.

#AmazingWomen: An ABS-CBN News Digital Special

(Production: Alessandro Diviggiano)