An 18-year-old girl in China has gone viral for spending about 4 million yuan (US$563,000) on plastic surgery. That’s not typo, not crypto scam, not house down payment. That’s her face. Over 100 procedures. Before she even hit adulthood. Sia.
Her name is Zhou Chuna, from Zhejiang. And this didn’t start last year. It started when she was 13.
How It All Started
Honestly, Zhou didn’t wake up one day and decide, “Eh, let me change my whole face.” This thing crept in slowly.
Since school, she felt anxious and depressed about how she looked. Relatives compared her to her mum. Classmates looked more confident. When she moved to an international school in Shanghai, it got worse. Everyone around her felt prettier, cooler, more put together.
So she did what many teens wish they could do — she tried to fix it.
Her mum approved her first surgery at 13 years old. A double eyelid procedure. Small thing, right?
But here’s the thing: once you start chasing “perfect,” the finish line keeps moving.
From One Surgery to Over 100
After that first op, Zhou went all in. And when I say all in, I mean nose jobs, eyelids, bone shaving — everything.
She eventually dropped out of school just to focus on surgeries. Doctors warned her. One even said her eyes couldn’t be widened anymore after 10 eyelid operations. She ignored him.
Couldn’t find a doctor willing to continue? No problem. She just switched clinics. Over and over. She’s basically visited every plastic surgery hospital in Shanghai.
Her most brutal experience? Bone shaving.
Ten-hour surgery.
Fifteen days flat on her back.
Fed only fluids.
Scared? Of course. But she still did it. Because stopping felt worse.
When Even Doctors Say “Enough”
Moving on — now it’s serious.
Doctors say her face has reached the limit. Any more surgery could cause facial nerve damage, muscle twitching, brain injury, or worse — death due to excessive anaesthesia.
That’s not drama. That’s medical reality.
At 18, experts have basically said: Stop now, or you won’t just lose your looks — you might lose your life.
Family, Fallout, and Identity Crisis
Zhou says her old friends don’t recognise her anymore. Her parents? Also struggling.
Her mum has stopped funding the surgeries. Her dad doesn’t approve of her new face. When people ask if she’s their daughter, they hesitate.
Imagine hearing that about yourself. Painful leh.
Still, Zhou insists the surgeries made her more confident and kept her dream of becoming a star alive. She says she has finally stopped.
Hopefully, really stopped.
Between You & Me
Okay, real talk.
This isn’t about plastic surgery being “good” or “bad.” People do it for many reasons, and that’s their choice. But this? This is not self-improvement. This is self-erasure.
When a 13-year-old thinks her face needs fixing, that’s not vanity — that’s a system failing her. Family comments. School pressure. Celebrity worship. Social media filters. All stacking up like unpaid bills.
When adults keep saying yes, kids will keep pushing. Boundaries matter. Especially when someone is still figuring out who they are.
You don’t heal insecurity with a scalpel. You just give it a new place to hide.
Some people felt sorry for her. Others said what she really needs isn’t another surgery — it’s learning to accept herself.
Both can be true. But one thing’s clear: this story isn’t shocking because of the money. It’s shocking because of how early the pain started.
And that’s the part we should really be uncomfortable with.
