Accelerated Growth: Plastic surgery on the rise in China

Thirty-seven-year-old Wang Junhong of south China has always loved European slacks. The problem was she couldn't wear them because she was too short (5 feet 2 inches) for the pants. The average person probably would have taken the pants to a tailor to be hemmed. Not Junhong. In 2005, she shoved out $9,700 for bone lengthening surgery, a painful procedure that involves breaking the legs and driving pins through the bone to lengthen the legs. "The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced I had to do it," said Junhong to the Associated Press (AP). She's now a "whooping" 5 feet 4 inches and can wear her European slacks.

While Junhong's decision may sound a little extreme, she is not alone. A recent AP report says that plastic surgery is quickly on the rise in China. According to the China Consumer Association, there are more 1 million plastic surgeries a year in China. Experts believe this interest in plastic surgery is due to several factors. For one, Chinese income has increased. According to the China Daily newspaper, China's economy has grown an average of 9.6 percent a year since 1979, the world's fastest rate; and urban disposable income doubled in the past five years.

Another factor is the influence of European/American culture, which has touted plastic surgery for years. The interest in plastic surgery is perhaps strongest among those in their 20s and early 30s because this is the first generation to come of age under non-communist rule. Under communism, which dictated women's beauty standards, plastic surgery was outlawed until the early 1980s. Today, Chinese spend more than $12 billion a year on beauty products, said the China Association of Perfume, Essence and Cosmetics Industry.

China's newest reality show, "Lovely Cinderella" is further evidence of this surge in plastic surgery. Modeled after America's reality show, "The Swan," the show does an extreme makeover of cosmetic surgeries to transform its participants. Since its September debut, the show has garnered about 4 million viewers per episode reported the China Daily. And it doesn't stop there.

In 2004, China organized "Renzao Meinu," a beauty pageant for those who have had cosmetic surgery. The event was organized after an 18-year-old woman was disqualified from another Chinese beauty pageant this year on the grounds that she had had cosmetic surgery, reported Tsinoy.com, a site dedicated to Chinese/Filipino news.

"Everybody should have the right to pursue beauty. And in fact, we all know that pretty women have more opportunities than others," Han Wei, a pageant organizer said to Tsinoy.com. "Statistics have shown that those who are more beautiful than average are even economically better off than others."

To some Wei's comments may sound farfetched, but to those in the limelight (i.e. actors, singers, models) plastic surgery is a means to get ahead. Their career depends on international appeal-the more European, the more fashionable or marketable, said beauty industry insiders in a recent CNN report on plastic surgery in China.

True as that may be for some, others prefer to retain or accentuate more of their Chinese features via plastic surgery. Julia Liu, an aspiring actress, wanted a more curved jaw line like other Chinese women. Liu had the surgery, but was not satisfied with the result. Her face now looks too thin. She has gone through countless surgeries to correct the problem, but to no avail. She issued a final word of caution, "Having plastic surgery can be addictive. One might want to do it again and again after the first time," she said in her CNN interview.