Students applying for Beijing Film Academy. [Photo: CFP]

"The kids are too immature physically to undergo the plastic surgery, and most of the kids have no idea what they are doing," said Jiang Hongmei, a woman from East China's Shandong province, who accompanied her son to the academy's examination for the second time.

Because their bones are still growing, kids this young should not undergo operations for double eyelids or higher noses, Jiang said.

Jiang's opinion was echoed by Li Jianning, director of the Department of Plastic Surgery of the Beijing University Third Hospital.

He said that those under the age of 20 are advised against plastic surgery because they are not mentally prepared yet.

"They are not mature enough to make such a decision in their life yet," he said.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Health in October 2010, some 3 million plastic surgeries were conducted in China in 2009.

"A lot of those who demand plastic surgery are high school and college students, and the percentage can get as high as 70 percent or 80 percent during the winter and summer vocations," said Li. "The academy's ban on cosmetic surgery is definitely a rectification of the distorted pursuit of beauty."

However, some hold dissenting opinions.