In 2012, the People’s Republic of China hosted the 62nd edition of Miss World in one of its lesser known provinces: the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. This Chinese autonomous region borders the country of Mongolia, and also has a large population of Mongols making this tourist destination the perfect fusion of Chinese and Mongolian culture. During the telecast, various activities that the contestants participated in were featured, allowing for the audience to participate in the learning experience of this lesser-known region. 

In this brief 3 minute clip, we learned that a traditional Mongolian greeting involves the offering of a silk scarf called a khadag and sip of a local drink. Later, the contestants travelled to the Genghis Khan Mausoleum where the contestants explained some incredible facts they learned. Miss Guatemala 🇬🇹 Monique Aparicio explained that the mausoleum contained the largest scroll (painting) in the world!! Miss Turkïye 🇹🇷 Açalya Samyeli Danoğlu spoke of how she learned that Genghis Khan came to power by uniting the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia. Miss Netherlands 🇳🇱 Nathalie den Dekke explained the many statues of men on horses and bulls as lifelike battle-scenes. Miss United States 🇺🇸 Claudine Book talked about how she learned that Genghis Khan was more than just a conqueror, but also helped his people by creating a written language system. These women learned so much about this region, as did the audience thanks to the wonderful storytelling of the Miss World team and candidates. Also did anyone else bop to the background music? 😁

Tourism is a key component to every country that hosts Miss World, and China PR brilliantly showcased a part of itself, and its Mongol culture that is not widely known, in the beautiful city of Ordos. ❤️