The Chinese will do lots of things for appearance. I thought having your makeup tattooed on and your eyelids cut and re-sewn was pretty bad. Both of these don't hold a candle to the newest attempt to look "better".

China has warned image-conscious citizens against using the rack to lengthen their legs after several such operations went badly wrong, Xinhua news agency said. ADVERTISEMENT

Ten people were reported to have been disfigured after they underwent stretching surgery last year, it added.

The operation, which involves breaking the patient's legs and then stretching them on a rack, has become popular among young professionals "desperate to climb up the ladder in the country's height-conscious society," Xinhua said.

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Height is usually listed as a requirement for jobs or certain schools in China. Many employers require women to be over 1.65 meters (5 ft 5 in) and men over 1.70 meters.

It is also an important factor in courting, when many Chinese women expect their partners to be over 1.70 meters and men also care about their potential wives' height to avoid short offspring.

I guess it's good that i didn't move to China to get a job so i could learn Chinese since i don't meet the height requirement for employment anyway.