A 24-year-old Chinese woman has begun to undergo six months of painful plastic surgery on her entire body.

Hao Lulu, an ethnic Manchu living in Beijing, went under the knife for the first time on Monday and hopes her new looks will lead to a career in films.

A crack team of plastic surgeons has been brought together for the operation, which is being financed by an unnamed sponsor, China Daily reported on Thursday.

The surgery began on Monday with the creation of a double eyelid for Hao and a nose tip more pointed.

Doctors said they would then remove the wrinkles from her neck and make her face thinner. Other operations will realign her jawbone and work on her breasts, abdomen, bottom and legs.

Hao said beauty is not the most important thing and that a noble character should be most highly prized in a person.

"But nowadays it is technically possible for me to become more physically beautiful too. If I can become beautiful both inside and outside, why not?" she said while defending her bold decision.

But Hao, a freelance fashion writer and jewellery dealer, has braced herself for the loss of her original appearance.

The only child in her family, she has not told her parents of her grand plans for cosmetic surgery. However, her Chinese-American boyfriend is fully behind her decision to go under the knife.

Zhou Gang, who will lead the operating team at Evercare, a Beijing cosmetic surgery hospital, said doctors have a picture of the future beauty they hope to turn Hao into.

He said Hao's new appearance would last for between three and five years.

But the surgery has drawn concern from other doctors and medical officials, who fear it is an 'elaborate publicity stunt', the report said.