When done successfully, refractive eye surgery allows patients to say goodbye to glasses. And now the laser procedure just takes minutes.

Some of these patients had just finished the surgery and walked out of the operating room by themselves. Their eyes looked fine without having the need to cover them.

One male patient said, "Now my vision is just a little bit blurred. But I don't feel anything else since I just had an anesthetic. I had the surgery to join the army. The surgery was really quick." A female patient said, "I just don't want to wear glasses anymore. Girls look better without glasses."

Many of these patients are high-school or college graduates, eager for the new opportunities or the better looks they think the laser surgery will bring.

The private Aier Eye Hospital in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, has seen a sharp increase in the number of patients recently.

Doctor Chen Peng, chief of the Aier Eye Hospital, has been doing eye laser surgeries for seventeen years. "We do three to four times more surgeries during the two-month summer holiday than at other times of the year. We've been quite busy. And in our hospital, the total number of people getting laser surgeries annually now is six times more than three years ago," he said.

Doctor Chen also warns prospective patients of the risks of any type of surgery. "Every surgery has advantages and disadvantages. It's not advisable for everyone. A full examination of your eyes is needed."

The soaring number of people getting laser-corrective surgeries for visions problems also reflects a growing number of nearsighted people in China. A survey from the World Health Organization shows half of China's population is nearsighted.

Shanxi Provincial Eye Hospital is often crowded with patients during the holidays. Many kids, mostly with near-sighted problems, are seeing doctors here. A 2018 survey from the National Health Commission of China shows more than half of China's school kids are nearsighted.

Sun Bin, chief of Shanxi Provincial Eye Hospital, has made public speeches on eyesight protection among teenagers. He revealed, "The vision problems of kids are now often triggered by the rising pressure from school work, more extra lessons during holidays, long time spent reading books and using digital devices, and less time for outdoor activities."

He says nearsightedness is irreversible and sufficient outdoor activities have proven to be most effective to prevent it.

"Let the eyes bathe in the sunlight. By saying that we encourage young people to have outdoor activities for two hours every day. And it’s better to spend those two hours at different times of day," said Sun.

Doctor Sun also says China's educational departments and parents should make joint efforts to help kids protect their eyesight.