Young man goes under the knife to look like Jack Ma

Many people in China think this young man has lost his mind.

While the Chinese society seems to have given their nod of approval in general to the Chinese women who went under the knife in order to look like drop-dead gorgeous actress Fan Bingbing, aspiring entrepreneur Huang Jian raised eyebrows when he announced recently that he would undergo plastic surgery to look like his idol, Jack Ma.

Unlike a few famous Ma lookalikes, Huang, who is in his 20s from Shenzhen city in Guangdong province, doesn't look at all like the world-famous tycoon, whose runaway e-commerce success with Alibaba is beyond the imagination of business visionaries.

Never mind if Ma isn't quite a good looker by any standard, the hardcore fan was obsessed with the bizarre idea of being 'Jack Ma' the whole package.

The Chinese media reported that Huang has paid a princely sum of one million yuan (S$206,891) for the surgery in South Korea.

It seems he doesn't mind looking older as Ma has just passed half-a-century mark.

It remains to be seen whether he will achieve any semblance of Ma, with his squarish jaw and creases around the eyes and mouth when he breaks into a smile.

While Huang might look like a million bucks after that, he still has a long way to go before he could reach the status of Ma, who became the first Chinese businessman to go on the cover of prestigious Forbes business magazine.

But the Ma-inspired man is positive about his outlook. In fact, he had already mapped out his mission even before the transformation.

People's Daily reported that one of Huang's chief reasons for wanting to look like Ma is that he hopes his new look would enable him to meet Ma in person.

To up his chances of meeting the man and achieving the Ma-route to success, he plans to enrol into Hupan University, a private business college opened by Ma in Hangzhou. It teaches aspiring entrepreneurs how to start their own business.

While some netizens think Huang has gone nuts to look like Ma, others think he has already achieved some modest success as he could afford the hefty surgery bill.

Huang actually looks a little more like China's late supreme leader Deng Xiaoping. So people are curious about how he would really look after the op.

Meanwhile, the reported Ma lookalikes aren't exactly carbon copies either.

Middle-aged security guard Ke Quanshou from Chengdu in Sichuan province might have Ma's wrinkles, but he looks more suave, some observers noted.

Jiangxi province's 'Mini Jack Ma' Fan Xiaoqin, who recently gained online fame for his uncanny resemblance, is far too young at eight years old.

chenj@sph.com.sg

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