"I've got all the beauties in my hand, including myself," Yu Jingfei cheerfully announces as she holds a set of poker cards.

The 18-year-old staff from the Chengdu Railway station has invented the first set of beauty poker cards in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Yu Jingfei stumbled on the idea of creating the cards after a series of online conversations with other women in the city. Fond of online chatting, she posted some photos of herself on a famous Sichuan web forum at the suggestion of her friends.

She soon got to know the other girls from Chengdu on the forum and they started discussing how they could promote their good looks to the rest of the country.

"Chengdu is known for its beautiful women in China, but why aren't we considered the number one city for beauties in the country?" Yu asks.

Yu Jinglei was inspired to create the beauty cards after reading that a scenic spot was planning on creating a set of poker cards to show its landscape.

"Why not us?" she said. "Photos of beautiful women can also make poker cards."

Yu Jingfei's online friends supported the idea as soon as she told them about it. They wasted no time putting their plan into action. The girls on the forum gave their photos to Yu, who printed the first set of beauty poker cards in Chengdu a few months later. Now the Ace of Spades bears a photo of a girl called Xue'r, the ten of hearts is Feifei, while the three of hearts is Yu.

But Yu Jingfei has received a few objections to her project, despite the support of most of her friends and parents. Some people think the cards reveal too much, while others don't want to touch a photo of someone's face while they play poker.

Song Hong is one of the beautiful women featured on the cards. She teaches at the Chengdu University of Technology. She thinks the cards are a great idea.

"Beautiful things should be shared by others!" she said, "As long as it is healthy and entertaining, it is not an insult to females!"
 
Meanwhile Yu Jingfei has already formulated the next step in her plans for the cards.

"I work at the station, and I want to sell the cards there. The public will soon know about them," she said.

(CRI December 29, 2006)