Limelight, TV cameras, media focus -- all these things used to be but dreams and fantasies for girls like Zhang Di and Hao Lulu.
  
But today their stories are reported by the media, debated on the Internet and they could even be recognized by strangers on the streets, all because of the highly publicized cosmetic surgeries that transformed their once plain-looking features into beautiful ones.
  
"Man-made beauty" or "knife-cut beauty" is how they are known to the public.
  
The surgeries they had undergone mainly included creation of double-fold eyelids, a heightened nose bridge, reshaping of lips and face, as well as removal of excessive fat.
  
Zhang and Hao, respectively the Beijing and Shanghai version of "man-made beauties" whose surgeries were sponsored by local beauty parlors, are not the only ones who have thrust themselves into the growing trend of cosmetic surgeries and have gone bravely under the knife in today's China.
  
"The Plastic Surgery Department has now become one of the busiest departments in our hospital," said Liu Chunlong, an executive official from the Shanghai-based Ren Ai Hospital, which first introduced plastic surgeons from the Republic of Korea, a country best known for its plastic surgery industry.

The Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital conducted 26,000 cosmetic surgeries in 2003, up 40 percent over 2002.
  
The "man-made beauties" play an important role in driving some people to go for a change of face and body, while profits have multiplied in the cosmetic surgery market as the demand grows, sources said.
  
While Zhang, the "man-made beauty" of Shanghai, claimed that she feels a lot more confident after the surgery and believes she will "certainly get more working opportunities and options", some experts also raised their concerns.
  
"Even a small operation like the creation of double-fold eyelids has its own risks," said Professor Cao Yilin, vice president of the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital.
  
Meanwhile, due to the publicity stunt by the hospitals that operated on the "man-made beauties" and the media hype, some people have been misled to think that cosmetic surgeries can turn them into anything they want to look like.
  
Plastic surgery advertisements now flood the pages of Chinese newspapers, enticing women who are not satisfied with their original looks to go for a "change overnight".
  
"It is sheer personal decision whether to take plastic surgery," said Deng Weizhi, director of the Sociology Department of Shanghai University. "But I still hope people will devote more time and energy to building up their inner beauty rather than outer looks."

(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2004)