A model from the ancient capital of Xi'an has done the country proud by winning several titles in an international beauty pageant, and in the process recorded the best showing by a Chinese entrant in the annual event.
Yin Zi, a 19-year-old, 1.8-meter-tall sophomore, won the "Queen of the Year", "Miss Crowning Glory" and runner-up to the main title at the Miss Tourism International Pageant 2002 World Final in Malaysia early this month.
It was best result ever recorded by a Chinese entrant in the annual international event.
"I was under a lot of pressure - so were all my 25 competitors, " Yin said in an interview with Xinhua shortly after she returned to her hometown. "We all represented our countries. Actually, few people knew my name there. They simply called me Miss China."
But for her slim figure and graceful manner, one would hardly associate the college girl wearing homely clothes and no makeup with her recent glories.
As well as studying fashion design at the Xi'an Engineering Technology Institute, Yin is a model with a leading company based in the northern port city of Tianjin, and has won several national awards in the past two years.
But behind all these honors and a seemingly enviable life lie pain and hardship most girls of her age could hardly imagine.
As a child, Yin never thought she would grow up to be beautiful. Her parents divorced when she was a third-grader at primary school, and her mother, once a model herself, lost her job at a state firm shortly after.
At the tender age of 13, the youngster learned to help her mother with all the house-hold chores and could even carry a full bottle of liquefied gas upstairs to their home.
"I was not like a girl at all. Actually, I wished I had been born a boy," Yin said with a laugh.
In fact, that short-haired little girl in her uncle's T-shirt and jeans seldom asked for anything. An avid music lover, she once took some piano lessons at school but had to give up when she knew her mother could not afford the expense.
Her mother has taught her to be independent, so unlike most of her peers Yin never learnt to say "What shall I do, mommy?"
"Even if I did, mom wouldn't have taken any notice," she said. Her mother was busy with her new job shortly after the divorce, and hardly had any time for her.
When the teenage girl stood out among her peers with her above-average height and slim figure, she started a modelling career that many young girls dream about, and enjoyed it.
(eastday.com January 20, 2003)
