Miss Chinese International Pageant (, formerly 國際華裔小姐競選), or MCI () for short, is an annual international beauty pageant, organized and broadcast by TVB, a network television station in Hong Kong. It was established in 1988 and the Chinese name of the pageant was rebranded in 2007.
The current Miss Chinese International is Miss Hong Kong 2018 winner Hera Chan, who was crowned at the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2019.
The 31st Miss Chinese International Pageant of 2020, originally scheduled to take place February 2020, was postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Composition
At its inception in 1988, in what was formerly British Hong Kong, delegates were either winners or runners-up of regional Chinese beauty pageants around the world excluding the country of China, as originally, this was a pageant for Chinese delegates from overseas. In 2007, pageant organizers altered the entry requirements to include delegates representing Mainland China. All delegates at the time of the pageant are between the ages at least of 17 and 25, with the upper age limit expanded to 27 in 2012. The delegates must be of at least partial Chinese descent.
In 2009, a record number of 11 delegates came from Mainland China, more than one-third of the total contestant count. The number of China delegates has since decreased, with the 2013 pageant having only one Mainland Chinese delegate, representing Foshan.
Chinese name change
Starting in 2007, the pageant allowed mainland Chinese participants, and the Chinese name of the pageant changed from 國際華裔小姐競選 (Cantonese: Gwokjai Wayeui Siuje Gingsyun; Mandarin: Guójì huáyì xiǎojiě jìngxuǎn), which literally translated to "Miss International of Chinese Descent Pageant" to 國際中華小姐競選 (Cantonese: Gwokjai Jungwa Siuje Gingsyun (Mandarin: Guójì zhōnghuá xiǎojiě jìngxuǎn) to reflect the change, matching the English pageant title of Miss Chinese International Pageant.
Participating regions
Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa (1989; 1992–1997; 2003; 2006–2007; 2016–2017)
The Americas
North America
Calgary, Alberta, Canada (1988–1996, 1998–2005, 2007–2008) Chicago, United States (1989–2007, 2009–2015, 2019) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (1988–1993) Honolulu, United States (1995; 1997; 1999; 2001–2002; 2018–present) Los Angeles, United States (1993–2005; 2013–present) Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1988–present) New York City, United States (1993–present) San Francisco, United States (1988–2010; 2014–2015; 2017-present) Scarborough, Ontario, Canada (1988, 1991) Seattle, United States (1988–2010; 2013–2015) Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1988–present) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (1988–present) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (1989–1994)
South America
Lima, Peru (2003–2006)
Europe
Amsterdam, Netherlands (2002–2010) Frankfurt, Germany (2005) The Hague, Netherlands (2002) London, England (1988-1991; 1996–2000; 2012; 2019) Paris, France (2008) Rotterdam, Netherlands (2007) Tübingen, Germany (2009)
Asia
Bangkok, Thailand (1991–1998; 2000–2008; 2010–2017; 2019) Beijing, China (2009-2012) Brunei (1993) Chongqing, China (2008–2009) Dalian, Liaoning, China (2012) Foshan, Guangdong, China (2007–2010; 2013–2015; 2017-present) Guangdong, China (2007–2012) Guangxi, China (2007) Hangzhou, China (2008-2009) Harbin, China (2009) Heilongjiang, China (2009) Hong Kong (1988–present) Jiangsu, China (2015) Ipoh, Malaysia (1993) Jilin, China (2009) Johor State, Malaysia (1991) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1995–present) Laos (2018–present) Macau (1988–1998; 2009–2010) Manila, Philippines (1988–1994; 2000–2013; 2017–2018) Nanjing, Jiangsu, China (2009; 2016) Nanning, China (2007) Penang, Malaysia (1989–1992) Quezon City, Philippines (1994) Singapore (1988–present) Taipei, Chinese Taipei (1988–2006) Wuhan, Hubei, China (2009) Zhengzhou, Henan, China (2009-2012)
Oceania
Auckland, New Zealand (1991-2017) Brisbane, Australia (1988–2005; 2019) Christchurch, New Zealand (1993) Hastings, New Zealand (1989-1991) Melbourne, Australia (1988–present) Sydney, Australia (1988–present) Tahiti, French Polynesia (1988–2010; 2018–present)
Pageant timeframe
The first two pageants (1988 & 1989) were held in the fourth quarter of the calendar year. However, in 1990, TVB decided to shift the pageant date to the beginning of the year to coincide with Lunar New Year. But since Miss Chinese International Pageant 1989 was not held until mid-December, the 3rd Miss Chinese International Pageant came early 1991 with no pageant being held in 1990. Since then, the pageant was held late January or early February of every year.