Beautiful Chinese Women, China International Stage Performers

Photo & story by: Debbie Stock

Beauty may be skin deep, but it doesn't come cheap, not even in China where prices are a lot less than the U.S.

Eyes and noses are the most popular for surgery, with prices ranging from around 3,000 yuan (US$370) for a "double-eyelid" procedure to about 20,000 yuan (US$2,500) for a nose job.

Breast augmentation, a favorite in the West, sets patients in Shanghai back about 35,000 yuan (US$4,400).

Although illegal until the early 1980s, plastic surgery is now a multi-billion dollar industry, spurred in part by TV shows such as "Lovely Cinderella" which offer surgery as prizes.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the country is home to a million plastic surgery clinics, employing 6 million people.

The China Consumers Association reported 20,000 complaints of disfigurement as a result of cosmetic operations each year.