BEIJING - Several kindergartens in Shanxi province in northern China are charging parents 1,200 yuan ($190) for a palm-reading test that they claim can predict their toddlers' intelligence and potential, Xinhua News Agency said.

Many parents have flocked to palm readers for the test, used in kindergartens in northern Shanxi province and designed for children above the age of three months, the report said.

According to the company that designed the tests, Shanxi Daomeng Culture Communication Co, the reading of palms helps "determine the children's innate intelligence and potential", Xinhua reported.

Some experts, however, have dismissed the idea of the palm-reading technology.

"This technology remains unaccounted for," Xinhua quote a pediatrics expert as saying.