[Photo provided to China Daily]

Tampons occupy a small corner of the shelves of feminine hygiene products in China's stores as sanitary pads hold a dominant position, perhaps because of Chinese women's lack of awareness about the product or its proper use.

Tampons are relatively new for Chinese women and China's tampon market lags behind that of the United States and European countries. Plus, tampons are not readily available in China.

Now, a hygiene product maker in Central China's Henan province has vowed to change all that.

Fu Wanqun, general manager of XinXiang Changsheng Hygiene Products Co, has introduced tampons, called Danbishuang, to the Chinese market. Fu says the company's target customers are urban white-collar female workers, who are well educated, and women who have lived abroad for a certain period and returned to China.

"Still, we don't expect most Chinese women to accept the tampon in the short term. To increase tampon sales, we need to raise women's awareness about the advantages of using tampons instead of sanitary pads," Fu says.