As countless film actresses, from Lucy Liu to Zhang Ziyi have shown, there's nothing sexier than a woman who can kick butt.

Which is partly why last week a bevy of beauties from across China pitched up at the legendary Shaolin Temple to learn about everything from uppercuts to pressure points.

The 40 contestants for the first Chinese Miss Tourism International Contest spent six days at the home of kungfu to learn about the martial art and to "cultivate a sense of Chinese Zen".

In the last snow of 2006, the girls gathered at the foot of Songshan Mountain in Henan Province, where the temple sits, for a special welcome ceremony from a group of students from the local Shaolin martial art school.

The striking gestures of these young martial artists cheered up the girls as they tried to brave the biting cold. Dressed in jeans and high-heel shoes, they tried to imitate the young kungfu kings.

"This training is actually not too dissimilar from the training we have to do on the catwalk," said Zhang Yuting, an 18-year-old from Hangzhou, east China.

Contestants from 13 provinces will take part in the finals in the host city Zhengzhou, in Henan Province later this month.

"Unlike other beauty pageants which pay most attention to the face, our applicants are required to possess both the virtues of Chinese women and the charm of eastern beauty," said Gao Han, executive chairman of the competition. He said that these virtues included courage, diligence, endurance and a profound knowledge and understanding of Chinese culture and history.

During their visits to the temple, the girls were touched by the legendary stories of the Shaolin Temple monks.

One story is of a monk who waited for Bodhidharma, (the legendary Indian monk who came to the Shaolin Temple and created Chinese Zen in AD 517), for several months outside a pavilion where Bodhidharma was staying. Every time he tried to enter the pavilion he was refused entry. One snowy day, the monk was finally told by the master that he would only be received if there was red snow. The monk cut one of his arms and the blood colored the snow red. He passed the test and became a student of Bodhidharma, who gave him the name Huike (meaning wisdom possible). The monk later became the second only abbot of the Shaolin Temple.

"As an image ambassador to promote traveling in China, we should be open-minded to different cultures and religions," said Xu Rui, a contestant as she held a burning joystick in her hand. Xu admitted that she knew little about religion, but like the others, was determined to learn so that she could promote tourism in China through her knowledge as well as her image.

As well as taking part in various competitions like costume shows, the girls also took part in other cultural activities including the ancestral worshiping near the Yellow River and New Year bell ringing in a local temple during their six day visit.

According to the organizer, the contest will be an annual event and plans are underway to launch regional competitions in South East Asia, America and Europe this April, for all women of Chinese origin who wish to be involved in promoting tourism in China.