BEIJING, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - A growing number of Chinese are spending their holidays going under the knife for cosmetic surgery, looking for an edge in an ever-tighter job market, state media reported Tuesday, october 2nd.

A billboard advertising breast implants and other plastic surgery procedures in Beijing - Photo : AFP/File

For some, this is the only free time they have to squeeze in a trip to the clinic while for others, the holiday allows time for bruises to heal and the bandages to come off without anyone catching on, the China Daily said.

"The seven-day holiday is the best opportunity for me to do it and recover, which will make me more beautiful and therefore boost my confidence at work and in my life," said Zhang Lin, a 25-year-old Beijing white-collar worker.

Cosmetic surgery is immensely popular in China with about one million operations performed every year.

The most popular treatments include minor adjustments to the face, such as nasal enlargement and "double-eyelid" surgery, which adds a fold over the eyes to make them look bigger or more "western."

"We always receive a surging number of customers around the holiday," Cui Qing, an executive with Beijing cosmetic clinic CAMS, told the newspaper.

Most customers are women in their 20s and 30s, but students also make up a growing demographic, it said.

"Nowadays, China's graduating students face an extremely tight job market," Cui said. "So they turn to cosmetic surgeries to seek an edge and land a decent job."

Li Hui, a 21-year-old college student, told the paper she had no choice in this "economic age of beauty."

"An above-average-looking girl can earn 10 percent more than others doing the same job," she said.