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Influencers in China are getting flak for posting trips to Buddhist temples with flashy handbags and attire.

These trips were perceived as capitalising on Buddhist temples for their own selfish gains.

The term "foyuan", which loosely translates to female Buddhist socialites, has been making the rounds on Chinese social media lately.

According to Sixth Tone, the aforementioned women usually post photos "often in seductive poses and sometimes wearing revealing outfits" in the hopes of profiting from advertisements and selling products related to Buddhist culture.

Global Times described "foyuan" as "flashily dressed women" with luxury bags from international fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton, who go to temples to practice "calligraphy and present cultivating the heart as a daily lifestyle".

Sixth Tone however noted that one of these "foyuan" wrote their religious texts in the wrong sequence.

Some of the influencers even use "hyaluronic acid" on their earlobes to plump up their ears to look more like images of Buddha.

Global Times outlined how their monetisation strategy usually works as well:

"Routinely, after they garner enough clicks, likes and followers on social platforms, they start to sell things. As the Workers’ Daily article said, the Foyuan post all sorts of shopping links, selling cosmetics, clothes and other items."

According to SCMP, these influencers are currently in the "crosshairs of an online crackdown".

They cited Chinese state media's take on this trend.

“It is truly sinful that a group of ladies who seem to stand aloof from worldly success, but in fact are full of material desires, sneak into these supposedly quiet temples,” the Workers’ Daily wrote in a commentary on Tuesday.

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Image from Weibo via Sixth Tone, and Sohu