BEIJING, June 7 -- After a seven-hour operation, 30-year-old Li Guohua, who had entered the operating room in Pengcheng Hospital in Shenzhen as a manin the morning June 6, left it at 4 p.m. as a woman.

It was the first sex-change operation performed in Shenzhen, and it meant a lot to Li and her family. Xia Zhaoji, the surgeon-in-charge and also an expert on sex-change operations in China, said the operation went smoothly and was successful. In spite of that, Li's sister couldn't help weeping at the sight of the great transformation.

Li went into the operating room at 8 a.m. and the operation started at 9:15 a.m. The main task before the surgeons was to remove his sexual organ and create a woman's genitalia on the body.

Li is a transsexual, a person whose gender identity does not match the sex that was assigned at birth. Born in a small village in Anhua County in Hunan Province, he has an elder sister and younger brother. As his mother died at an early age, Li had to drop out of school in Grade Two and take care of the family chores after his sister got married. At the age of 15, he felt he looked and sounded more like a girl, and even his neighbors called him "Sister Guo."

Li came to Guangdong five years ago to look for job. But he was turned down repeatedly because he was effeminate. With the help of a fellow villager, he managed to find a job in a hardware factory in Dongguan.

Li said he was always interested in men. Two of his male colleagues liked him a lot. When one of them was away, Li would become so sad he would not be able to eat well for a week.

After reading about sex-change operations, Li called a newspaper in Shenzhen in April asking for help. Pengcheng Hospital, a local hospital specializing in plastic surgery, said it would do the operation for Li free of charge. After going through a medical check-ups and obtaining certificates, Li finally underwent the operation yesterday.

Li said that he had been willing to pay any price to become a woman, but on the day before the operation, he admitted to having felt a little bit nervous. When asked about his plans after the operation, Li said he had sometimes dreamed of becoming a film star. He plans to have long hair and wear high-heeled shoes and sexy skirts.

Tian Yahua, the president of the hospital, said Li would not have too many problems because the previous identity was more awkward. "But Li still has a long way to go to become a real woman," said Tian, suggesting that she would need counseling after the operation. If everything goes smoothly, Li will have her breasts enlarged within one year.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)