Jing Qi is one of thousands of young women and men in China who have turned themselves into live-stream anchors as a way to attract a following on social media and make money. Millions of people in China watch live streams each day for entertainment. Live-stream anchors on apps like Huajiao broadcast themselves singing, dancing, answering questions from their audience, or just talking about life. Viewers reward them with gifts or virtual coins, which they can convert into money.
But as with other facets of the entertainment business, how you look matters. To boost her earnings, Jing Qi shelled out the equivalent of ten times her monthly salary for a five-hour rhinoplasty and fat transfer procedure. According to Jin Xing, the founder of Soyoung, a plastic surgery directory, a majority of China’s successful live-stream presenters have had plastic surgery in the belief it will boost how much money they can make.
Watch the video above to see Jing Qi’s transformation.