She asked me what I did for a living. When I told her I was a writer, she frowned and said a new nose could help me find a better job.

“Your nose is too flat. A well-shaped nose commands respect,” said the consultant. “Businessmen come in to get more prominent noses. And ladies have better chances in both career and love after their operation.”

I was in one of the biggest cosmetic surgery hospitals in China, located in the southern city of Shenzhen, where over half the population is made up of migrants from other parts of the country. Most of them are here for factory or construction work, but many long for better prospects.

A nose job costs around $2,900 at this hospital, which is a bargain compared to the average cost of rhinoplasty in the US of $4,500, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. But when the average yearly income for urban residents in China is just $7,000 and the average monthly pay for a migrant worker a measly $40, a nose job would take years for most people to save up for.

Yet cosmetic surgery is an investment more and more Chinese women from all rungs of society are splashing out on, according to new research from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. And it’s not all about vanity. Those who go under the knife usually believe surgery would improve all aspects of their lives.

“The dramatic economic, cultural and political changes in China have produced immense anxiety experienced by women, which stimulates the belief that beauty is capital,” said anthropologist Wen Hua, author of the recently published book, Buying Beauty: Cosmetic Surgery in China.

The idea that beauty is capital “epitomizes the idea that good looks are the key to increased opportunities for social and career success,” she said. “Cosmetic surgery has become a form of consumer choice; it reflects in microcosm the transition of China from communism to consumerism with its own Chinese characteristics.”

Wen’s research focused on field studies in Beijing, interviews with 58 women from age 16 to 55 and analysis of Chinese media reports. She found that cosmetic surgery is less taboo in China than in North America, and is particularly popular among women struggling to find work.

Between 1993 and 2001, 43 million urban employees were laid off, amounting to a quarter of China’s total urban labor force. Women were often the first to be laid off and the last to be hired back, and when applying for jobs they encountered much more discrimination than men, said Wen.

A 2003 review of job advertisements found that among positions open to women, nearly 90 percent were open only to those younger than 30 years old. Youth is particularly cherished in a country where women who remain unmarried past the age of 27 are labelled “leftover women” by the government. Women who don’t meet minimum height requirements (usually set at 1.58 meters) are also often denied government jobs.

But these obstacles have not kept women from aiming high. A 2011 study by the Centre for World-Life Policy found that 76 percent of women in China aspire to top jobs, compared with 52 percent in the United States.

Ambitious women who turn to cosmetic surgery to gain an edge in the job market fuel a 2.5 billion a year industry in China that has grown at a pace of 20 percent per year, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. China is now the third largest market for cosmetic surgery in the world, after the US and Brazil, although when population is taken into account cosmetic surgery may be most common in South Korea.

In China, the practice has become so socially accepted that beauty pageants have been held especially for “artificial beauties” and vocational schools for flight attendants routinely herd students into cosmetic surgery hospitals, said Wen.

Outside the hospital in Shenzhen, I met a woman surnamed Liu from a smaller city in Guangdong Province, who had also come from a consultation. She had glossy hair, a pointed nose and a slim figure. She showed off her long legs in a mini-skirt and platform heels.

“I’m thinking of getting herbal weight loss injections,” she told me. “Injections are safer and cheaper than liposuction.”

In the past year, Liu, a 28-year-old administrative assistant at a financial company, had already undergone double-eyelid surgery and rhinoplasty at the hospital, which offers a mind-boggling range of procedures including some adapted from traditional Chinese medicinal practices. When I asked Liu why she chose to get cosmetic surgery, she said: “It’s just like applying makeup; everybody wants to enhance their beauty. A woman especially needs to work to maintain her appearance as she gets older.”

A daughter of struggling shopkeepers, Liu said she was barely able to finish secondary school and was lucky to find decently paid work. “I wouldn’t have been hired if I had been an ugly duckling,” she said. Liu is now worried she will lose her job once she gets older. She has taken evening classes in business management, but believes an attractive appearance is just as important as education.

Liu is aware of the horror stories of botched surgeries. Around the world, risky operations such as “leg-stretching” surgery are rarely used for cosmetic purposes but such operations are popular in China. In efforts to meet height requirements for jobs, men and women have paid tens of thousands of yuan to have their bones broken so that doctors could insert steel pins under the knees and above the ankles, but complications have left dozens of people crippled for life. China’s Ministry of Health has banned some risky cosmetic surgeries, but most private clinics for cosmetic surgery are widely unregulated.

Out of curiosity, I decided to visit a private clinic in Shenzhen. After an hour of walking in circles, I found the clinic on the 18th floor of a rundown residential building with drunk or drugged men sprawled in the hallways. A teenage boy greeted me at the door, and sat me down for the consultation at a flimsy table while his father watched a soap opera a few feet away in the living room. The clinic doubled as their living quarters.

I inquired about liposuction treatments, but the boy mumbled something about the doctor being unavailable and to my horror, suggested that I get human placenta injections instead, vaguely explaining that placenta treatments are “good for women。” The injections cost about $1,630 per pack of five syringes and must be self-administered. I declined the offer and bolted out of the clinic.

“Cosmetic surgery is a choice and you have to make the best decisions for yourself and your family,” said Liu. “That’s what people are doing all over China today.”

她先是问我是干哪行的。当知道我是个作家后，她皱了皱眉头说整下鼻子就能帮我找份更好的工作。

“你的鼻子太扁了。漂亮的鼻子会让人‘顿生敬意’。”整容顾问说，“老板们来这里都是为了整个好看的鼻子。整容后的女人会事业爱情双丰收。”

这是我在深圳一家全国最大的整形医院采访时的内容。来这家医院整容的人大[微博]半都是外地人。他们大部分人都在深圳的工厂或建筑公司上班，但很多人都希望生活能过得更好些。

(在这家医院)做一次隆鼻手术的价格是2900美元。对比美国整形协会的数据—均价4500美元，这个价格算是便宜的了。但当了解到中国城镇居民的年均收入只有7000美元，而外来打工者的月薪也只有可怜的40美元时，对大部分打工者来说，要想做一次隆鼻手术他们得攒上好几年的时间。

然而，中国香港大学[微博]的最新研究显示，中国花钱整容的女性越来越多，各行各业的都有。她们并不一定是为了虚荣，且她们通常认为整容将全面改善她们的生活。

最近中国出版了一本书叫《买来的美丽：在中国整容》，该书的作者兼人类学家文华(音译)谈到：“中国在经济、文化和政治上经历了巨大的变革，这令中国的女性们产生了极大的焦虑情绪，从而促使她们认为漂亮就是资本。”

“好的相貌对改善人际关系和职业晋升都至关重要，这也折射出‘漂亮就是资本’的思想。“她还说道，“整容已变成了消费者的一个选择，这从微观上反映出中国正在由共产主义社会过渡到中国特色的消费主义社会。”

文华的研究内容主要包括在北京地区进行实地调查，对58名年龄从16至55岁不等的女性进行采访，以及对媒体的报道进行分析。她发现，相对于北美地区，整容在中国的忌讳要少些，而且在那些急于找工作的女性中整容尤为盛行。

1993年至2001年间，中国约有4300万城镇居民下岗，这一数字相当于中国城镇劳动力人数总和的1/4。文华表示，最先解雇的是女员工，最后复工的也是女员工，相比男人来说，女人在找工作时遭受的歧视要多得多。

对2003年的招聘广告回顾后发现，在这些面向女性的职位中，几乎90%的职位都要求应聘者在30岁以下。在中国，年轻人会受到百般照顾，而女性在27岁之后还没结婚的话，政府就会给其贴上“剩女”的标签。女性身高若不足最低身高要求(通常是1.58米)，政府部门也通常不予录用。

尽管存在各种限制，但也不能阻止她们的远大追求。2011年，世界生活政策中心曾进行过一项调查，结果显示76%的中国女人渴望高级职位，而在美国这一比例是52%。

据新华社报道，事业型的女人会将整容当作是工作中的一种优势，中国的整容行业会因她们而产生每年25亿美元的收益，且年均增长达20%。目前，中国是世界第三大整容市场，仅次于美国和巴西。而就整容的人数来看，韩国则是整容最流行的国家。

文华说道：“在中国，整容已经相当普遍 ，到处都有专门甄选“人造美女”的选美比赛。 有些培养空姐的职业学校甚至还会定期组织学生去医院整容。”

在这家深圳的整容医院外面，我遇见了一位广东某个小县城来的刘女士，她也是来这里整容的。头发锃亮，鼻子尖尖的她身材很好，穿的迷你裙很配她的长腿，脚上穿着一双平跟鞋。

她说：“我想用药物注射来减肥，药物注射要比抽脂手术安全些。”

刘女士今年29岁，曾任职于一家金融公司做行政助理。她去医院隆过鼻，也拉过双眼皮，这些手术的复杂程度超乎想象，有些手术还是源自传统的中药疗法。当我问她为什么选择整容时，她回答到：“这就好比是化妆吧，每个人都想要自己变得更漂亮。女人年龄一大(皮肤)就特别需要保养。”

因为得帮着母亲忙生意，刘女士说，“我初中都没上完就辍学了，幸好找到了份体面的工作。如果我是个‘丑小鸭’，我是不会被录用的。”刘女士现在担心随着年龄的增大，她会失去这份工作。虽然她晚上也去学习商业管理课程，但她仍然认为好的相貌和良好的教育背景两个都重要。

刘女士对整容失败的不幸遭遇也有所耳闻。就全世界来说，像拉腿这样存在风险的手术很少会被当作整容手术来进行，但它在中国却颇为流行。为了达到职位的身高要求，求职者们不惜花费数万元来切断腿骨，并分别在膝盖和脚踝处植入钢钉。目前已有数十名患者因并发症而导致终身残废。中国卫生部明令禁止此类有风险的整容手术，但许多私人整容诊所仍然在违规进行。

出于好奇，我决定去当地一家私人诊所看一看。在一栋旧居民楼里转了一个小时后，我终于在18楼找到了一家私人诊所，楼道里躺着几个人，可能是喝醉或者是嗑药的吧。诊所门口有一男孩，见我就热情地询问并招呼我在一个桌子旁坐下，桌子有些破了，而此时男孩的父亲正在几尺远的客厅里看电视剧。

我向男孩咨询了有关抽脂手术的情况，但他却支吾说医生现在没空，居然还建议我进行胎盘注射，还含糊地说胎盘注射手术对女人“有益”，这可把我吓坏了。手术需花费1630美元左右，一包注射器(5个/包)，须自己注射。我婉拒了男孩的建议，并迅速离开了诊所。

刘女士说：“整容手术是一个选择，而你得为自己和家人做最好的选择，这就是当下中国人都在做的事情。”