
The Documentary Podcast
Make me perfect: Manufacturing beauty in China
April 20, 2025
26 minutes
Available for over a year
In China today, looking good is seen as key to career success. With beauty videos promoting extreme weight-loss flooding social media, beauty apps making booking surgery click of a button away, China’s cosmetic surgery industry is booming. But the surge in demand has led to a shortage of qualified practitioners and licensed clinics. Hundreds of accidents are happening inside Chinese clinics every day. We talk to young women pressured into cosmetic procedures and expose the surgeon behind one of China’s most notorious botched surgeries.
Presenter: Natalia Zuo
Produce: Ly Truong
Editors: Rebecca Henschke and Monica Garnsey
Mixed by Gareth Jones
This episode includes a clip from The Most Beautiful You in the World (世界上最动听的你), aired on WeTV.