Miss China crowned Miss World 2007

Zhang Zilin, Miss China, won Miss World 2007, beating out women from 105 other countries. Miss Angola came in second, Miss Mexico came in third. Two billion watched on television.

She and Miss Domincan Republic were favoured to win.

At 1.82 metres, she was the tallest woman there. She is a secretary from Beijing, who grew up in Hebei province.

Her country will host the Olympics next summer.

The women were rated on beauty, style, dress, physical fitness and niceness.

The beauty pageant took place in the Beauty Crown Theatre in Sanya, China on the island of Hainan.

Miss China’s philosophy: “Where there is a will there is a way.”

More.

See also:

• Pictures of Miss China
• Miss World 2007
• Zhang Zilin, Miss China
• Miss Angola
• Miss Mexico
• Miss Domincan Republic

 

The new look in British women

From the Scotsman in 2004:

Back in 1951, during the era of post-war food rationing, a typical woman measured 5ft 3in tall, had a 37in bust, a 27.5in waist, 39in hips and weighed 9st 10lb. Today, a typical British woman would weigh in at 10st 3.5lb, be 5ft 4.5in tall, and carry an extra 1.5in around the bust and hips and 6in around the middle. More.

In metric that comes to:

• 1951: 1.60 m, 62 kg, 94-70-99 cm
• 2004: 1.64 m, 65 kg, 98-85-103 cm

In terms of body-mass index (BMI) that is no change at all: 24.2 in both years, which is almost overweight but not quite.