Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

The 2017 Miss China International Organizing Committee has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Tianfeng, a local promotion company, to publicize the Autumn crowning of a Zhuhai-area queen.

Signing ceremony at Fortune Century Hotel on April 7 [Photo by Liu Xiaofeng / Zhuhai Daily]

The annual Miss China International pageant was initiated in 2008. It is the first world-level competition registered in the country that also includes Chinese living abroad. It is guided by both the China Federation of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs and Guangdong Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. Sponsors include the Guangdong Returned Overseas Chinese Adolescent Committee, Guangdong International Overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce, China Health & Safety Certification Center, and Guangdong Ruizhi Investment Co. The competition aims to "carry forward excellent traditional Chinese culture, promote unity among global Chinese, and create a unique cultural communication brand," announced the organizing committee.

Preparations for this year's competition have been in full swing since January. Unmarried Chinese women aged between 16 and 28, and over 165 cm in height may sign up. The Zhuhai division is also open to contestants from Hong Kong and Macao, and will select finalists in October. International finals will be held in Macao in December.

Domestic pageants will take place in Guangdong, Fujian, Hubei, Jiangsu, Northeast China, and in cyberspace. Overseas divisions include the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, Chile, Argentina, and Malaysia. Taiwan also will choose a contestant.

According to an executive of the Zhuhai division, the city has received much attention from home and abroad because of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area plans and the Belt & Road Initiative International Development Strategy, as well as the upcoming opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. The competition itself is a move to better publicize Zhuhai's development and changes, and show the world the city's prospects, he noted.