Cosmetic surgery clinic set to make a pretty penny

"Apart from traditional spending on housing, cars, electronics and traveling, Chinese people are spending more on their looks, and the plastic surgery market is becoming the latest growth pole of consumption," said Jiang Zhi, CEO of popular mobile phone application ZhenYouMei (meaning genuine, good and beautiful in Mandarin).

Firms going the extra distance as medical tourism blossoms

Travel becomes passport to a new look

The app creates a cybercommunity in which people can share their experience or diaries of getting plastic surgery, and to which hospitals can release information. It has attracted about 200,000 registered users and 4,000 hospitals providing cosmetic surgeries.

"Most of the users are women aged between 20 to 45. Fifty-eight percent of them are white-collar workers, with a middle-to-high income and education background. It is worth noting, 1 to 2 percent of the surgeries are done on men," Jiang said.

Cosmetic surgery is becoming more available, and is a part of people's pursuit of confidence and better life quality, he said.

Sun Feng, a surgeon with Xijing Cosmetic Surgery Hospital in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, said the hospital has received more than 400 clients daily since the beginning of July. Xinhua News Agency reported that 80 percent of them are students, seeking prettier faces to advance in their studies or careers.

"I don't think cosmetic surgery is a big deal nowadays. It sounded risky and serious before, but not necessarily nowadays. You could finish a beauty injection on the face or lips in several hours," said Vivien Xiao, 33, a nail salon owner in Shanghai.

The State Council announced in March it was relaxing market entry requirements for the private sector to build health institutions, and the authorities in April granted private hospitals the right to make pricing decisions and adopt flexible charging methods.