Podcast

Beauty and the pavilion

Updated: 2010-08-27 14:27

There is a popular saying that compliments the renowned beauty of Chongqing women: "A man will not realize he has married too early until he visits Chongqing." However, if you don't have time to visit Chongqing, you still have a chance to check the veracity of this saying by visiting the Chongqing Pavilion at Expo Garden.

Unlike the straightforward northern women or the sweet-tempered southern belle, Chongqing women are famous for their looks and fiery nature, created by the distinct mountainous environment and rainy weather of the country's southwest.

Twenty-year-old Chongqing girl Nie Aixin stands out as proof. Last month, she was crowned Miss Chongqing after a selection process that included sashaying across the stage, answering challenging questions and performing dances and songs.

The 1.73-meter, 50-kilogram beauty is a student from Chongqing's Southwest University.

Nie, along with other girls from the pageant, are now serving as guides at the Chongqing Pavilion.

Compared with glamorous runway shows and bikini contests, work at Expo Garden is not easy - sometimes even boring.

As Miss Chongqing, Nie is always the center of attention.

"Every day there are thousands of visitors taking pictures with us. Perhaps years later, when those visitors take out the photos of their Expo trip, they will say: 'Hey, look! This pretty girl is from Chongqing, China.' And our wonderful city will once again be remembered," she said.

Pretty pavilion girls form much of the scenery at Expo Garden. At the Heilongjiang Pavilion, visitors will meet more beauty.

"Every visitor who comes into our pavilion praises our girls for their beauty," said Li Deshan, director of the Heilongjiang Pavilion. "They are the pride of Heilongjiang."

The girls in Heilongjiang Pavilion were chosen after rounds of rigorous selection. And they work hard, putting in 10 hours a day at the pavilion.

Heilongjiang Pavilion receives about 20,000 visitors every day, which means a lot of work for the staff.

"The work here is hard. But we're happy that people always praised us for our charm and beauty," said Bing Lin, a guide at the pavilion and student at the Harbin Civil Aviation School.

Wearing a navy blue uniform and make-up, it is difficult to guess she is only 15 years old - the youngest among the girls in Heilongjiang Pavilion.

Before the start of Expo 2010 Shanghai, nearly 300 attractive young women, most of them college students, were selected from over 10,000 contestants in a nationwide competition. More than 30 million people voted for the winners on the Internet.

The winners, who became Expo guides, had two months of intensive training.

"Through the comprehensive training course, these young women are better prepared in knowledge, etiquette and ability. This helps them properly and fully represent China," said Sun Weimin, an official with the Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau.

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（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Beauty and the pavilion

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is fluent in Korean and has a 2-year-old son.