Chinese social media is now flooded with advertisements about the results of ear plastic surgery. “It’s magic! I haven’t changed anything in my face and all my friends say I look different the day I got my ear surgery done. For example, the face looks smaller and looks better. smarter.. etc..” – said a young person on the lifestyle sharing platform Xiaohongshu over the weekend. Goblin ears are currently a popular beauty trend among young Chinese. Photo: Artwork “Oh, I want it too”, “definitely worth it”, “unbelievable” – others commented. The owner of the Shanghai-based Mylike Medical Cosmetic Center, Ms. Linlin, told the newspaper South China Morning Post : “The demand is so high that customers have to line up for the surgery. It’s very safe and popular.” Yu Wenlin, a doctor specializing in ear plastic surgery at Gaoshang Medical Aesthetic Center in Guangzhou, says he sometimes performs up to six ear surgeries a day. Many doctors warn that this surgical procedure carries many risks. Photo: Baidu Some people want their ears changed because they can’t be seen from the front, which makes the face appear larger, or because they can’t pull their hair back, Dr Yu added. There are two common ear surgery methods: one is inserting artificial cartilage or cartilage from other parts of the body into the area behind the ear that Dr. Yu usually does. The other way is to inject hyaluronic acid that the Mylike base provides. Wang Jiangyun, a plastic surgeon at Third People’s Hospital in Zhengzhou, in central China’s Henan province, warned that there could be a risk of scar infection and asymmetrical ear infections when Additional cartilage, allergies, blood clots and necrotic skin when using hyaluronic acid. “I dare say that after this “goblin ear” craze, there will be an army of people going to beauty salons asking to get their original ears back, just like there was a time when there was a “nose according to internet celebrity” surgery movement. “, “European double eyelids” etc. have done”, – said Dr. Jiangyun. “As time goes on, you will find that these fashions become ugly. So I advise people to think more rationally about this,” he added. Guangzhou-based surgeon Yu said the popularity of goblin ears surprised him. However, he agreed that the fever would pass quickly. So he will turn down people who ask to have parts of the cartilage cut to make the ears look exactly like the goblins in the movies, because such cases won’t be the same again. “As doctors, we have to consider aesthetic factors for patients in the long run. Many children ask for it impulsively,” he said. China’s plastic surgery market has grown from about 64.8 billion yuan ($10.1 billion) in 2015 to nearly 177 billion ($27.7 billion) in 2019, leading the growth. about plastic surgery in the world, according to a report by Deloitte Consulting in January 2021. The annual growth rate of the plastic surgery industry in China is 28.7%, much higher than the global growth rate of 8.2%.

Recently, Chinese young people, specifically the generation born after 2000, are trending towards creating goblin ears. Many young people even went online to praise the surgery that was more successful than expected to help themselves become younger and more beautiful. Shaping “goblin ears” is becoming a new aesthetic trend in China. (Photo: SCMP) “It is amazing. I didn’t have to change anything on my face, and my friends said I looked like a completely different person when I finished the surgery. My face looks smaller and more agile,” wrote one Chinese netizen. “I want surgery too”, “It was worth it” and “Unbelievable” were comments in favor of the “goblin ear” plastic surgery. Not only women, but even men in China are flocking to hospitals for “goblin ear” surgery. A large-scale cosmetic center in Shanghai, Mylike Medical Cosmetic, said that they have received a large number of appointments for “goblin ear” surgery. “This procedure is completely safe and common. Every day, we have a long line of customers waiting for their turn to do surgery,” sales officer Linlin of Mylike Medical Cosmetic told the South China Morning Post (SCMP). Dr. Yu Wenlin at Gaoshang Aesthetic Center in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, said that he performs six cosmetic ear surgeries for clients every day. “I only see young people born after 2000 as the main subjects who want to create a ‘goblin ear’ shape. Early last year, I created elf ears for a celebrity and it quickly became a trend. More and more people are coming to me for surgery,” Yu said. In this type of surgery, the doctor will create the shape by injecting or extending the earlobes so that the earlobes are clearly tilted to the sides and have a clear sharpness. According to Dr. Yu, the main wish of the client when doing “goblin ear” plastic surgery is to make the face look smaller and younger. Dr. Yu added that some people go for “goblin ear” surgery because when viewed from the front, their normal ears seem to disappear, making the overall face look bigger, or there are people because the ears are too big. so small they can’t tuck their hair behind their ears. However, Dr. Wang Jiangyun at the 3rd People’s Hospital in Zhengzhou city in Henan province warned that ear surgery could leave clients with infections, complications or even abnormal ears. symmetrical with the face. The plastic surgery market in China has grown rapidly from 64.8 billion yuan ($10.1 billion) in 2015 to nearly 177 billion yuan ($27.7 billion) in 2019. This number makes China the country with the fastest growing plastic surgery industry in the world. The annual growth rate of the cosmetic industry in China is 28.7% compared with the global average of 8.2%, according to data released by Deloitte Consulting in January.

Catching the trend, advertisements promoting this “fashion” of surgery spread throughout Chinese social networks. “It’s magic. I haven’t changed anything on my face but my friends say I look different. My face is smaller and I look smarter.” a person shared on the Xiaohongshu website. “Oh, I want to be too”, “unbelievable”, “definitely worth the money” , others commented. Many young people, both men and women, are flocking to hospitals to learn about this new type of surgery. Many people believe that “goblin ears” will help the face slimmer, even younger. (Photo: SCMP) At Mylike Medical Cosmetic – a famous surgical service provider in Shanghai, the demand for “goblin ear” surgery is so great that customers have to queue to get surgery. “It’s very safe and common. Our clients have to line up for surgery every day,” Lin Lin – owner of Mylike Medical Cosmetic said. Yu Wenlin, a doctor specializing in ear reconstruction at the Gaoshang Medical Aesthetic Center in Guangzhou, said that there were days when he performed up to six “goblin ear” surgeries. “Many young people, mainly 2K generation friends, want to have ‘goblin ear’ surgery after I helped an internet celebrity do it in early 2020.” Yu said. There are two common methods of goblin ear surgery. One is to add artificial cartilage or cartilage from other parts of the body to be implanted in the posterior ear area. Yu often uses this approach. The second is an injection of hyaluronic acid. However, Wang Jiangyun, a plastic surgeon at 3 People’s Hospital in Zhengzhou, Henan province, warned that goblin ear surgery carries risks of infection, allergies, blood clots, and skin necrosis. using hyaluronic acid. “I dare say that after this fever of love ears, there will be an “army” of beauticians asking to get their original ears back. As time goes by, you will find that these fads become ugly . So I advise people to consider this,” Wang said. Yu, a surgeon in Guangzhou, is surprised that goblin ears have become so popular. However, Yu also believes that this fever will soon pass. Yu said he would refuse cases requiring goblin ear surgery because the surgery is “one-way, no-return”. “As doctors, we need to look at the patient’s condition in the long run. There are young people who ask for it impulsively.” , Yu said. According to a January report, China’s plastic surgery market grew from about 64.8 billion yuan in 2015 to nearly 177 billion yuan in 2019, leading the world’s growth in plastic surgery. The industry’s annual growth rate is 28.7%, much higher than the global growth rate of 8.2%.

As a major parts manufacturing company for industrial machinery, SMC China resumed operations in early February 2020, while the epidemic swept through China. But within a month, production activity here returned to pre-epidemic levels. After 3 months, SMC has 0 infections among nearly 7,000 employees, according to Think China . SMC China General Manager Ma Qinghai said that when the virus spread at the end of January 2020, many companies in China switched to producing ventilators and masks. This led to a sharp increase in orders received by SMC China. Therefore, the return to the operation of the company is paramount. The core strategy of SMC China is to keep the defense and not allow the virus to have a chance to stay. “Our employees know each other face to face and are familiar with the factory environment. As long as we secure the entry point, there will be no cross-contamination. The key lies here,” Ma said. Check employee health via mobile phone SMC China is a balance model between the need to prevent the epidemic and the need to return to work. Before returning to work, the company created a mobile app and asked employees to report their temperature and health condition every two days during their time off. This ensures workers stay healthy when they return to the factory from locations across China. Workers at the TCL air conditioning plant in Jiujang city are required to bring their own towels to dry their hands after soaping, according to an online notice. Photo: Getty. According to Mr. Ma, when he first returned to work, the goal was to ensure that there was no infection in the dormitory. To do this, the company arranges for all workers returning to Beijing to be isolated for 14 days before entering the dormitory. Each dormitory room is only occupied by 2-3 people to reduce the possibility of cross-infection. The production department must daily submit detailed records of temperature checks, workplace disinfection, mask distribution, and cafeteria meal times. The minutes also include information of each person in charge of each content in the anti-epidemic work. More than 3 months after returning to operation from February 3, 2020, SMC China has been able to supply products to many supply chains that produce anti-epidemic supplies, such as mask production machines for more than 500 companies and core components for dozens of ventilator factories. Stricter than authorities regulations Chinese authorities set strict regulations for companies that return to work, such as having to open office windows three times a day, 30 minutes each time In the capital Beijing, companies are required to stop fingerprinting and prohibiting employees from sitting across from each other during lunch. According to the Washington Post , some companies set anti-epidemic measures stricter than the regulations of the authorities. One of these companies is iPhone assembly plant Foxconn Technology Group – China’s largest private employer with more than 1 million employees. At Foxconn’s iPhone manufacturing complex in Zhengzhou, Henan province, workers are grouped into groups of 20 and have to live together day and night, according to a Zhengzhou government notice. Part of the manual instructing workers how to cover their mouths when sneezing to prevent the virus from spreading at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou. Photo: Foxconn. “This group of workers work, move, live, and eat together to ensure each person’s path can be traced,” the statement read. Reply Washington Post , a 36-year-old worker at Foxconn said that every morning, each worker is given a mask and has their temperature checked. At lunch, they ate at the high partition canteen. “There are partitions on the table so we can’t see or talk to each other,” the worker said. Seats at the Foxconn cafeteria are affixed with a QR code for workers to scan before eating. This helps the company understand who eats where and when, the company said in a statement. At the dormitory, workers must leave their coats and bags at a designated place for disinfection. Foxconn even installed infrared cameras to check the temperature of employees as they pass by. In a statement, Foxconn said it was following “all medical and hygiene recommendations… including the use of nucleic acid testing and chest X-rays where necessary.” The company said that by the beginning of April 2020, it had produced 10 million medical masks, of which the goal was to produce 2 million pieces per day for internal use. Helping employees overcome fear According to the Think China , the strict measures at Chinese factories encountered no obstacles because the company proactively reported information and the workers’ own virus fears. “The initial problem was to help workers overcome psychological fear. The rigorous and comprehensive measure makes them feel safer… Everyone knows such strict regulations are put in place to ensure their own health,” said Hiroyuki Hamada, President and CEO of Renesas Semiconductor, said. Renesas Semiconductor is a semiconductor company with a factory in Beijing. Renesas Semiconductor’s factory has about 600 workers, of which more than 90% live in company dormitories. Before the company resumed operations on February 10, 2020, more than half of the workers were on vacation in their hometown and were picked up by the company to Beijing. Those returning by public transport must live 14 days in a segregated dormitory. Workers have lunch at Renesas Semiconductor. Photo: Think China. Tables at the Renesas Semiconductor canteen are also numbered. Workers must record the number of tables and meal times for tracking purposes. “With these measures, we were able to maintain zero cases for the past few months. Up to now, 90% of the preventive measures are still in place, ”Mr. Hamada replied Think China in May 2020. Thanks to the above epidemic prevention measures, China’s huge economic engine can be safely restarted. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of April 21, 2020, industrial enterprises that generate at least 20 million yuan in revenue have achieved an operating ratio of 99.1 % and the rate of workers returning to the factory is 95.1%.