A Chinese actress whose nose turned black after a rhinoplasty caused her flesh to rot has highlighted the terrifying rise in botched procedures in China.
Gao Liu is just one of many women who have fallen victim to evolving beauty standards in China, which puts them under pressure to have plastic surgery to enhance – and in some cases, transform – their appearance.
Liu’s story is investigated in BBC Eye documentary Make Me Perfect: Manufacturing Beauty in China, after she visited a clinic called She’s Times in Guangzhou in 2020 for a nose job.
Her surgeon Dr He Ming was billed the clinic’s ‘chief surgeon’ and a nose surgery expert, however, Liu’s operation resulted in the tip of her nose turning black due to lack of circulation.
After seven days of worsening symptoms, she was transferred to a top public hospital, but the damage was permanent. After four years and two repair operations, her nose remains damaged.
The investigation found that, despite Guangzhou’s Health Commission announcing sanctions on the clinic and surgeon, he still appears to be operating, but in a clinic with a different name.
Liu’s story is one of many explored in the documentary which delves into the disturbing rise of botched operations in China as people opt for ever more daring procedures in the name of beauty.
In China, good looks are seen as the key to career success, with videos promoting controversial beauty standards like extreme weight loss flooding social media, and beauty apps making surgery a click of a button away.
After Chinese actress Gao Liu (pictured) revealed her nose turned black after a cosmetic procedure went wrong the BBC investigated the disturbing rise in botched surgeries in a new documentary, Make Me Perfect: Manufacturing Beauty in China
China is seeing a boom in cosmetic surgery, with 20 million people a year paying for cosmetic procedures in the world’s most populous country.
Of these people, 80 per cent are women and the average age of people seeking cosmetic enhancements is 25 years old.
The industry was once seen as taboo in Chinese society, but has increased in popularity thanks to social media, a gradual change in attitude and people having more disposable income.
With changing attitudes come changing beauty standards; with the once longed-for ‘Western’ traits now less popular among clients.
However, in place of the previously sought-after aesthetic which valued symmetrical faces, a sculpted jawline and a prominent, sharp nose, some dark trends are instead on the rise.
Women are now chasing the ‘hyper-feminine’ look, to the point of being childlike, the documentary finds.
Among the bizarre procedures being requested in China are Botox injected behind the ears to tilt them forwards – which creates the illusion of a smaller, daintier face.
Women are also opting for lower eyelid surgery to widen the eyes, creating a childlike look inspired by Anime characters.
Meanwhile, upper lip shortening narrows the space between lip and nose – which is thought to signal youth.
And cosmetic surgery is easier than ever to access with the rise of apps including SoYoung (新氧 ‘New Oxygen’) and GengMei (更美 ‘More Beautiful’).
The apps, which are now extremely popular, claim to analyse a person’s face to highlight the ‘imperfections’ they should correct.
Photos Gao Liu posted of her face show a clear patch of blackened flesh on the tip of her nose, as well as bandages and bruising
Gao said she hoped the surgery would improve her acting career, however she spent over a year out of work
Singer and actress Gao Liu, who has starred in multiple films and TV programmes in China, had a nose surgery at a Guangzhou clinic called She’s Times (熙施时光) in 2020
After seven days of worsening symptoms, she was transferred to a top public hospital, but the damage was permanent. After four years and two repair operations, her nose remains damaged
Singer and actress Gao Liu sparked a heated discussion online after sharing the images revealing the tip of her nose has rotted away and fallen off
Gao said she ended up being hospitalised for two months and has lost 400,000 yuan ($61,800; £45,200) in work
Gao said the botched operation had left her with recurring infections as well as necrosis of the nose, meaning the tissue at its tip has died
After assessing users’ faces, they provide surgery recommendations from nearby clinics, taking a commission from each operation.
As celebrities, such as Gao Liu, continue to undergo cosmetic procedures in their droves, demand for such operations has risen significantly.
However, this surge in demand has created a shortage of qualified professionals to carry out the procedures – resulting in a rise in reported accidents in Chinese clinics.
After Gao Liu posted photos of her rotting nose on Chinese social media site Weibo, they went viral and horrified people around the world – which prompted authorities to act quickly.
Within weeks, Guangzhou Health Commission announced sanctions on the clinic Gao Liu had visited, and her surgeon Dr He Ming.
It turned out to be the sixth time the clinic had been sanctioned and, worryingly, it was revealed that Dr. He Ming was not qualified to carry out plastic surgery unsupervised.
He was barred from practicing for six months and the clinic closed down soon after it was sanctioned for the sixth time.
However, in a mysterious development, weeks before She’s Times officially closed its doors, a new clinic called Qingya (轻雅 ‘Light and Elegant’) requested to register at the same address.
Her surgeon Dr He Ming was branded as the clinic’s ‘chief surgeon’ and a nose surgery expert, however Gao’s surgery resulted in the tip of her nose turning black due to lack of circulation
Investigating the incident, BBC Eye uncovered strong links between the two clinics, which are registered under different legal representatives.
The reporters found that She’s Times’ Weibo account had switched up and begun to promote Qingya after it opened, with similar social media approaches and styles.
Dr He Ming was also listed as a senior staff member at the new clinic.
Records on the national database of health professionals show that Dr He only obtained the licensed plastic surgeon qualification in April 2024.
However, the qualification shouldn’t have been granted to him according to Guangdong Provincial Health Commission rules, which disqualifies surgeons who have been sanctioned by any health commission from obtaining the qualification/status for five years.
Dr He Ming was sanctioned in 2021 – three years before he obtained the license.
She shared her cosmetic nightmare with her 5 million followers on China’s Twitter-like Weibo to warn them about the potential dangers of plastic surgery
The BBC Eye documentary reveals secretly recorded footage from a consultation at Qingya clinic, where a staff member says Dr He Ming has been working at the clinic for ‘seven, eight years’ and had been nicknamed ‘Nose King of Guangzhou’ for completing the highest number of nose surgeries in the province in 2023.
While Dr He Ming could only meet the patient briefly between operations, he said he’s been carrying out nose surgeries since 2012.
In November 2024, Dr He Ming started a social media account as a nose surgery expert. He claims to have nearly 20 years of experience and to have carried out 10,000 operations.
Since it opened, Qingya has expanded to now operate 30 branches across the province.
Following the BBC Eye investigation, neither the Qingya clinic nor Dr He Ming responded to requests for comment.
The Guangdong Provincial Health Commission also did not respond to questions about why Dr He Ming was able to btain the licensed plastic surgeon qualification against their rules.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK said in a statement: ‘The Chinese government consistently requires enterprises to operate in strict compliance with national laws, regulations, and relevant policy provisions.’
BBC Eye Make Me Perfect: Manufacturing Beauty in China will air on BBC Two at 23:00 on April 23, or it is available to stream on iPlayer.
