ABU DHABI // Among the 40 million Chinese who live overseas, Ouyang Qiuchuan can call herself the Asian superpower's official desert rose.
"Actually, it's Miss Rose," the 24-year-old pageant winner joked when she met The National at a Deira hot-pot restaurant.
The Dubai flight attendant was celebrating after being named Miss Rose 2010 this month at the Emirates Palace hotel.
Ms Ouyang had not even planned to enter the contest and only went along to keep her friend company.
But she went on to beat more than 100 Chinese Gulf entrants living in the UAE, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar and claim the crown.
Ms Ouyang, who comes from the impoverished southwest province of Guizhou, described her new title as "unbelievable".
"It's like an international Miss Chinese for all the Middle East," she said.
She was crowned in front of 500 guests including Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and the Chinese ambassador to the UAE, Gao Yusheng.
Ms Ouyang will go on to compete in October in the 2010 Miss Chinese Cosmos Pageant in Hong Kong as the Middle East's representative.
The only drawback will be she will need to get back into those killer heels. "It's really, really painful," she said. "Two of my toes on my right foot are still numb."
The annual pageant is produced by the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV station and has been beamed into millions of households around the world since 2003.
Unlike the Miss China competition, the Miss Chinese Cosmos entrants are not required to hold Chinese passports.
"We're recruiting a Miss Chinese, not a Miss China," said Peipei Fu, the project supervisor for the Middle East final.
At the Hong Kong pageant, Ms Ouyang will face competition from North America, Australia and Southeast Asia, not to mention the mainland.
The 2009 Middle East representative, Nadya Cui, who is also from Dubai and of mixed Chinese and Emirati ancestry, qualified in the top 12 last year.
It was the first year the Middle East subdivision - the smallest in the competition - was introduced, according to Ms Fu.
"There are four different sub-subdivisions in mainland China - in Guangzhou, Xi'an, Beijing and Hongjiao," she said. "In Beijing only last year, there were more than 3,000 contestants."
Ms Ouyang, who moved to Dubai less than two years ago, wants only to try her best.
"In China, there are so many beautiful girls, but to find a girl who is beautiful outside and inside is also very important," she said.
When the call went out in mid-July for Middle East contenders, she planned only to accompany a friend to auditions in Dubai - not try out herself.
"I wasn't thinking to join the contest because I didn't have confidence," she said.
"But I went there and one lady said, 'Oh, you look great, why don't you join us? Come, come, just try'."
She was surprised when she was recruited among 20 candidates and asked to prepare a performance. "They had a computer, so I downloaded music from the internet and sang a simple Taiwanese song I used to sing in karaoke."
Her answers during the question round at Emirates Palace also impressed judges. "They asked me what I would do if I won? What are you going to do to improve Chinese culture?
"Because I'm from a really little town in China, this small province, nobody knows it, only that there are lots of very poor people [who need] charity, I said my only wish is to help people know more things about my home town. It's not only poor people. We have nice food, lots of painting, cultures."
As a China-UAE cultural envoy, Ms Ouyang was the best choice, said Wu Jianping, chairwoman of the Middle East pageant's organising committee and cultural officer for the Chinese embassy in the UAE.
"I think she's very elegant," said Mrs Wu. "She has nice features, but also has knowledge."
One aspect that Ms Ouyang admits she needs to work on, however, is walking in high heels.
"I hate high heels, but to join this contest you need to wear 15cm high heels every single day," she said.
Ms Ouyang is earning her master's degree in psychology through an online course in Beijing, and eventually wants to return to China to work as a psychotherapist.
"There are so many bad things happening in China, like earthquakes. I think Chinese people are suffering psychological problems, so they need somebody to help them."
@Email:mkwong@thenational.ae
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The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The biog
Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb
Age: 57
From: Kalba
Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge
Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.
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Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Summer special
Stage results
1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:39:05
2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team BikeExchange 0:00:08
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma same time
4. Jack Haig (AUS) Bahrain Victorious s.t
5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates s.t
7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ s.t
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (COL) EF Education-Nippo s.t
9. Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo s.t
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers s.t
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
