More than half of the selfies uploaded on Chinese social media are believed to have been edited using apps made by just one company.
Meitu, which translates to “beautiful picture,” has been around for less than a decade. But as The New Yorker’s Jiayang Fan reported in her recent story, "China's Selfie Obsession,” Meitu is quite literally transforming the face of China.
“Users can brighten their eyes … sharpen their chin … heighten their cheekbones, delete their freckles, and almost any other beauty procedure you may think of,” Fan said.
The look achieved through Meitu’s apps has even gotten its own name: wang hong lian, meaning “internet-celebrity face.”
And some in China have even gone as far as to get plastic surgery to achieve the look they’ve created through Meitu’s apps.