Miss China Crowned Miss World 2012

Reuters

Miss World 2012 winner Yu Wenxia (C) of China, second place contestant Miss Wales Sophie Moulds (L) and third place Miss Australia Jessica Kahawaty (R) pose for photos following the pageant's final ceremony at the Ordos Stadium Arena in the inner Mongolian city of Ordos on August 18, 2012. AFP Photo

Miss China, a 23-year-old music lover who wants to work with the poor, was crowned Miss World 2012 at a ceremony in Inner Mongolia, pageant organizers said yesterday.

 Wearing a sparkling blue gown, Yu Wenxia waved to the audience in the Dongsheng Stadium in Ordos, located in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
 
Organizers said Yu beat out 115 contestants, a record, in the highly publicized annual international beauty pageant.
 
China also won the Miss World title in 2007, when model Zhang Zilin took the crown.
 
"I love to smile and I like music," Yu said in a video posted on the pageant's website, in which she talks about her study of Chinese folk music.
 
Sophie Moulds, a 19-year-old business student from Wales, took second place. Jessica Kahawaty, 23, a law student from Australia, was third.