A report in the Australian Daily newspaper "The Age" says that Chinese Christians currently outnumber members of the Communist Party. The Gospel message is being spread everywhere, in the countryside and in the cities, and even in uncommon places, like beauty salons.

Xun Jinzhen, owner of a beauty salon near Beijing Zoo gives its customers more than they bargain for: not just facials and manicures, but the Word of God. Mr. Xun sees beauty salons as a good place to transform souls as well as bodies. Xun Jinzhen told "The Age" he introduced 40 of his patrons to the church last year alone.

Mr Xun, and millions of other Chinese Christian converts like him, may well be living proof that God moves in a mysterious way.

Among the state-approved religions are Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam.

Buddhism and Taoism claim most worshippers but the state-sanctioned Christian churches count up to 35 million followers. More significant are the underground churches, which are believed to have up to 100 million members, many more than are members of the Communist Party.

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong's People's Republic of China turned on itself, torturing and killing hundreds of thousands of people. But the seeds were sown for an unexpected upsurge in Christianity.

In a social revolution that has prompted a heavy-handed response from the Government, religion is spreading through town and countryside and Chinese communities abroad.

According to the report, many people, especially in the countryside, have converted to Christianity after someone they know or love was healed from a sickness as a result of prayer.

In rural villages or urban churches alike, the people gather any day of the week to proclaim and practice their faith.