Asian beauty hopefuls to grace downtown Gongbei

The Zhuhai Divsion of the 2018 Miss Asia Pageant was announced at the Charming Holiday Hotel on Weiji Road, Gongbei (near the Zhuhai Railway Station) on June 30.

Online registration runs until Sept 15 and is open to unmarried and childless female citizens who are older than 16 and more than 160 cm tall. Applicants should be eligible to go abroad, having no criminal record or improper occupation or indulging in behavior that would damage the event.

Nearly a thousand young women from across the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao have signed up. Eligible candidates will go through an interview and mass-election process from July to September and enter a competition in mid-to-late September before the Zhuhai final on Oct 11.

In addition to free training courses and tailor-made modeling, division finalists will participate in a global charity trip in late September, and split a prize pool of at least 300,000 yuan ($45,430).

Those who make it to the global final are likely to become contracted artists of event organizer Asia Television (ATV). They will be able to apply for Hong Kong's Quality Migrant Admission Scheme and gain permenant residency in the city.

Founded in 1985, the event is in its 4th year in Zhuhai and has grown into one of the top four beauty pageants in the world. It has produced a great number of notable titleholders, including Joey Meng (Wan Qiwen), Yvonne Yung Hung (Weng Hong), Kristy Yang (Yang Gongru), and Elaine Ng Yi Lei (Wu Qili).