The PRC: Plastic Republic of China

BEIJING, Aug. 31, 2010 -- In August 2008, Wang Ling* was forced by her mother to go under the knife.

"Bigger eyes are more awake and beautiful," Wang's mother told her.

China currently has the highest number of plastic surgeries in Asia, according to a survey conducted by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). Worldwide, China accounts for 12.7 percent of the total plastic surgery procedures – after the United States and Brazil.

In Beijing, high school seniors and college-aged students dominate the plastic surgery market, representing almost 80 percent.

Their motivation? To gain a competitive edge in the job hunt.

"If you're pretty, you won't have many obstacles in getting a job," Wang, 20, told ABC News. "I was an ugly duckling, but now I'm a swan."

Wang, who lives in Chongqing province, underwent a double eyelid procedure in August 2008, shortly before starting college. She also got a nose lift.

During the 30-minute surgery for double eyelids, the plastic surgeon cuts, folds and sews the upper eyelids with a fishhook-like instrument, creating a crease above the eyelids.

"I had plastic surgery myself," Wang's mother, 45, told ABC News. "It made me more confident and I want my daughter to be prettier and more confident as well."

Cosmetic surgery was only introduced in Beijing in 1994, and the market has evolved considerably since then. Beijing's China-Japan Friendship Hospital sees a total of 20 to 30,000 people in their plastic surgery department every year, according to department director Dr. Ma Haihuan. The numbers have been steadily increasing over the past few years.

"Most of our patients are 20-40 years old," Ma told ABC News. "July and August are the peak months for college-aged students to get plastic surgeries."

The most popular procedures, said Ma, are double eyelids, nose lifts, breast enhancement and other facial adjustments.