China’s new face of success, touched up

Last year, the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital conducted over 30,000 cosmetic procedures, a rocketing 40% increase over 2002.

The women are upfront with their reasons. Lu Xiao Yu, 23, says she believes cosmetic surgery to be a route to increased social mobility and opportunities. ‘‘I only have a middle school education, so when I realised that I could become much more beautiful, I thought why not change my face and get more chances in life,’’ she says.

Lu, who grew up in a small village in Hebei province, has had 13 procedures over the last two years including eye-reshaping, liposuction, jaw defining and dimple implants.

Adds 21-year-old Ma Li, who works in a post office in Jiangsu province’s Lian Yun Guang city, ‘‘If there are two women with the same qualifications, the prettier one always has a better chance of getting a good job and husband.’’ Ma Li had already won several beauty contests and was, in fact, image ambassador for her city, when she made the decision to alter her nose, jaw and cheekbones. ‘‘I was already pretty but you can always improve. I wanted to be perfect,’’ she says.

A surgically enhanced appearance is not as easy on the wallet however, as on the eye. While the most common procedure, ‘‘double eyelid’’ surgery, which adds a crease above the eyes giving them a rounder and larger look, costs between $300-400, according to Dr Wang Ji Geng, General Secretary of the China National Union of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeons, the majority of women opt for multiple procedures often running up bills of thousands of US dollars.

It is seen as an investment. With six million graduates flooding the job market every year, competition for lucrative work is intense and many parents seem more then willing to sacrifice a few month’s salary to give their children an edge.

The youngest patient Dr Wang recently operated on was a 16-year-old girl brought in by her parents who had decided to gift her a ‘‘double eyelid’’ procedure as a reward for her having done well in school exams. ‘‘The parents saw this present as a worthwhile long-term investment in their child’s future,’’ says Dr Wang.

For those whose parents are unwilling or unable to cough up the requisite moolah, bank loans and boyfriends are the main alternative methods of funding. Then there is the ‘‘live advertisement’’ route.

Last year, Hao Lulu, an unemployed fashion writer, became an overnight celebrity when she underwent $36,000 worth of liposuction, breast implants, nose reconstruction, calf enlargements and face-narrowing jawline surgery, all donated by Beijing’s Ever Care clinic. In return, Hao agreed to the media following every step of the procedures for the benefit of a rapt audience.

Another ‘‘artificial beauty’’ to hog the media headlines earlier this year was 18-year-old Yang Yuan who spent $13,253 on cosmetic operations to win lucrative beauty pageants. But she was barred from the Miss International beauty contest when it was discovered that her looks were less than natural. She sued and lost but an events company Tainjiu Media then stepped forward and gallantly proposed organising the world’s first beauty pageant exclusively for women who have received cosmetic surgery procedures. The only entry requirement for this Miss Plastic Surgery contest, scheduled for the end of December, is proof of inauthenticity.

The organisers say they already have over 30 contestants, including women from Japan and Korea. ‘‘We want to encourage society to accept artificial beauties,’’ says Lu Jin Qing, CEO, Tianjiu Media. Apart from the contest, Tianjiu is also working on developing a TV soap opera series about artificial beauties.

‘‘What we see now is just the beginning,’’ says Dr Wang.