Miss Huaxia Universe pageant launches 2025 competition

The Miss Huaxia Universe pageant launched its 2025 competition on May 28, with founder Zhou Xiangji telling China.org.cn the event aims to showcase Chinese culture through women who celebrate the country's traditions.

Zhou Xiangji, founder of the Miss Huaxia Universe pageant, poses for a photo at a launch event in Beijing, May 28, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Miss Huaxia Universe Organizing Committee]

The event combines beauty competitions with cultural performances and business opportunities to promote Chinese culture internationally, according to Zhou.

"When Chinese women display the elegance and depth of their heritage on the international stage, it becomes the most compelling global story of Chinese civilization," Zhou said.

Zhou founded the pageant in 2016, holding its first edition in Malaysia before expanding to more than 30 cities worldwide, including New York, Los Angeles, Singapore, Paris, Beijing, Chengdu and Macao.

He said he established the competition to create an independent Chinese cultural pageant brand.

"We created this event to share China's stories effectively with the world," Zhou said. "What distinguishes it from other international pageants is that this is China's indigenous cultural pageant, an event with distinctive traditional Chinese cultural characteristics."

Peking Opera-style dancer Ren Xiangshan and previous Miss Huaxia Universe regional champions Zhang Yue and Zhang Tianze perform during the launch event in Beijing, May 28, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Miss Huaxia Universe Organizing Committee]

Wednesday's launch of the 2025 competition announced collaboration agreements with representatives from Hebei province and southwestern China, which will serve as competition zones. This inclusion highlights significant local cultures from Hebei and Sichuan provinces for cultural showcases.

Cao Bin, chairman of the Hebei competition zone organizing committee, announced plans for selection rounds in multiple cities across the province. Winners will take part in cultural programs that include training sessions, traditional costume shows, heritage workshops and classes on Yan Zhao cultural traditions — the historic heritage of ancient kingdoms that once ruled this region — before representing Hebei internationally.

The pageant will launch a Global Cultural Ambassadors program to train contestants in promoting cultural exchange through academic research and community service that bridges historical traditions with modern global perspectives.

Zhou said the competition holds annual regional events with open auditions. Finals include two elimination rounds: first selecting 50 from 100 contestants, then choosing 12 finalists for the championship night. Contestants apply through the official app, and finals are broadcast online every December.

"The competition welcomes outstanding women worldwide regardless of nationality, open to all who admire Chinese culture," Zhou added.

Organizers and guests of the 2025 Miss Huaxia Universe pose for a group photo at the launch event in Beijing, May 28, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Miss Huaxia Universe Organizing Committee]

At the launch event, Malaysian Chinese pop singer Mindy Quah, serving as the pageant's global promotion ambassador, emphasized the competition's mission to promote cultural confidence through beauty.

"The radiance of Chinese women stems not merely from appearance, but from their profound cultural legacy — this is precisely the Chinese narrative the world should embrace," Quah said.

Lin Ran, film producer and China secretary-general of Miss Huaxia Universe, emphasized the competition's cultural significance.

"When pageantry fully integrates intangible heritage, Chinese classics and etiquette, traditional aesthetics gain contemporary relevance to transcend cultural boundaries," Lin said.

Yang Hongsen, CEO of Motuo Digital Technology and China CEO of Miss Huaxia Universe, outlined the commercial strategy. "We will implement a culture plus industry model to elevate traditional Chinese beauty into a globally recognized cultural IP," he said.