It was with a sense of pride that Su Xi Rong revealed her feet to British photographer Jo Farrell.

Her feet, bound from the age of seven, were so small that she had been renowned for their beauty.

The 75-year-old is among the last remaining women in China to bear the effects of foot-binding, a practice first banned in 1912.

Farrell met more than 50 of them over an eight-year period, and says she was surprised to find stories of pride and empowerment. Her book about the women is being launched at the British Council in Hong Kong on Monday.

Foot-binding was believed to create a more beautiful foot and promote obedience.

Not all women had an adult forcing the binding on them.

"I would say about 40% of the women bound their own feet, which I found quite surprising," says Farrell.

"They wanted to be like other girls. Some women said they knew how to do it because they had seen their mothers do it."

Over a period of time, the small bones in the toes would break beneath the weight and the foot arch would lift so that a woman's heel would almost touch the metatarsals.

Jo found those who felt resentful did so because they had had to work in the fields.

"It would have been much easier to do if they hadn't had bound feet," she said.