Dear Slate, yes there are chocolate bars in China
Lot o' Hotpot: Three Travellers
Interview: Kerry Ann Lee, culture shock = inspiration
Garbage burning protests: The online life of dissent
Coming soon to a police checkpoint near you
She's 178cm and 55kg, she's born in Shaanxi and goes to uni in Beijing, she likes hip-hop music, Chinese classical art and old people. She's single. Zhao Tingting, also known as Miss China 2005 sees her role as a "great responsibility" (interview in Chinese and video clip in Chinese).
She didn't win the Miss World 2005 pageant, once again held in the south Chinese resort city of Sanya, but it was no surprise. Miss Philippines was a huge favourite at odds of 4-to-1, but was pipped to the post by the presumably cool Miss Iceland, who won at odds of around 12-to-1. Apparently two billion people watched a bunch of OK-looking strangers wandering round, and doing some rather inspirational things such as planting trees. Unfortunately not one of them said "I want to save the world ... through modelling" (we're guessing no one else got that quote from the old US sitcom Blossom). They did say the words "beauty," "nature" and "mother earth" a LOT though. After we threw up and had regained consciousness, we spent the next three hours trying to pronounce the winner's name: Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir. The first two words fill you with confidence until the third somehow forces the world into slow-motion.
Back to dear Miss China: When will they pick a girl who actually looks much better than the average Chinese girl on the street? Oh wait. How could we forget. Miss World isn't about looks and the celebration of vanity, right?
Also on Shanghaiist:
Shanghainese people pay to lose face
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wow! you mean miss china above has the looks of a typical average chinese female in China? Wow!! wow! .. I'm chinese b...and well...if i'm marrying someone by the looks.. i reckon i'll be the happiest man alive with her...
I couldn't resist linking this slightly related article
In my humble opinion, William, yes.
Asian women have a pretty decent start in that they are almost all thin. Then it's all about taste, but I'm sure you'll agree that 'the asian look' of women is certainly a very pleasing one.
You're Chinese? And you like Chinese women too? Then why the hell aren't you here?!?!?!?
Oops, that link was meant to go in the "Boobies" story.
From personal experience, I've found that white guys always seem to go for the ugliest asian chicks, at least by Asian standards.
I'd be interested to see your definition of "above avg", Nick.
ah the old 'white guys go for girls that chinese guys find ugly' thing.
I have always heard of it but never quite understood it.
Maybe it's because white guys go for the "personality" in Chinese girls and not how they look? Maybe? At least 0.1% maybe? Surely? No? Rats.
I thought about it for a bit but it's difficult to define, Steph. I love Zhang Ziyi but it's also because she is amazing in many other ways.
Anyway, I don't think this Miss China is anything special, that's all. I could definitely see better girls than her on the street.
(I have this theory about "white guys dont go for the best chinese girls". Several years ago when us pale fellows were rare in Shanghai, we would have most likely gone with girls who could speak English. If you teach English for a while you'll notice the "not-so-good-looking" girls speak better English as they study harder. So average foreigners guys would have gone with average Chinese girls. but chinese people might have thought that average-looking foreigners were better than they were. Just a possibility.)