This is the moment a beautician saves a young woman's life after performing the Heimlich manoeuvre on her when she choked on a boiled egg.

A surveillance camera video shows three women sitting around a table at a beauty salon and chatting over some snacks and drinks in the city of Huzhou, in Zhejiang Province, northern China, on Friday, December 15.

Then somewhere around 6:20pm, one of them, reportedly a customer at the beauty shop, suddenly started suffocating after eating a boiled egg in a squatting position.

The beautician, identified only as Ms Cao by Chinese media, then got up from her spot and gave the young woman a cup of water to unblock her throat.

But when that made things much worse because the liquid pushed the egg farther down the young lady's trachea, Cao quickly stood behind her and attempted the Heimlich manoeuvre for several minutes.

After coughing out a bit and spitting out a few pieces of the egg, the customer breathed freely, as seen in the footage.

In an interview with local media, the salon owner said she learnt the first-aid technique online. It was reportedly her first time performing it.

Cao said: 'I had seen something similar on TikTok before, but I didn't take it seriously, thinking that these things only happened online and wouldn't happen around me.

'The reality is, it happened! You can't even imagine, it was my first time using it, and I really don't know much about it.

'Usually, I just casually browse and don't pay much attention, only have a general idea. I was really scared, so afraid that she might leave this world like that.

'Fortunately, she eventually coughed it up. Later, the customer told me that at that moment, she thought she was going to leave this world, she was unable to breathe at all.

'I hope all of you can learn the Heimlich manoeuvre for first aid. Don't think it has nothing to do with you. Make sure to spread this knowledge to everyone, but I hope you never have to use it.'