Hate it or love it, the relic from almost ancient times that is the Miss Universe contest remains a force to be reckoned with, as could be seen in Nanjing last week as the competition selected a representative for China in this year’s grand world finalé.
The finals in China’s selection process for a Miss Universe took place in Nanjing last week at the Hanjue Hotel in Xianlin, and the venue could not have been more appropriate; the politically incorrectness of Miss Universe itself matched only by the gaudy hotel as Nanjing’s home for the lowest common denominator in conspicuous wealth.
After many rounds of competition that began on 3 December, it was Sun Jiaxin of Beijing who had the ¥5-million China Miss Universe crown placed on her head on coronation night. She had beaten no less than 86 other hopefuls from all over China.
Narrowly pipped to the post were Wu Dan of Shanghai who came in second and Chen Yujia of Beijing in third place. The top five was rounded out by Li Xinyuan of Guangdong and Wong Lo of Hong Kong, according to Angelopedia.
When not on the Miss Universe catwalk, Sun is enrolled as a student in Beijing at the Capital University of Physical Education and Sports. As China only began participating in the global spectacle in 2002, Sun will be only the 19th woman to represent the country in the Miss Universe beauty pageant.
In the event that she wins, Sun would become the first woman from China to do so, and be crowned by current title holder, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa.
At present however, on account of the impact of COVID, no official details have been released regarding the date and venue of the Miss Universe 2020 world finalé. That said, many believe the event shall take place sometime in the first quarter of 2021, for which, at present, delegates from 58 countries have been selected.
With the competition over and those millions on her head, Sun will now be making preparations for the finalé no matter its date, presumably by practising that speech in which she prays for world peace.
And that’s because, it should not be forgotten, the Miss Universe contest cannot be defined as a mere beauty pageant. According to the contest organisers, any women with aspirations of being Miss Universe must be “intelligent, well-mannered, and cultured”.
