Recently, "beauty contest" has been a very hot topic among the public. Many results of the contests have surprised the audiences and challenged people's aesthetic standards again and again. A lot of netizens have written down their comments on the internet about top three of Miss International of many divisions such as Chongqing, Shandong, Hainan, Fuzhou, Anhui and so on, expressing how surprised they are about the definition of "beauty".

The top three beauty contests in the world, Miss International, Miss World and Miss Universe have brought some disappointments to the general public. Maybe you can already imagine the quality of other smaller beauty contests. The results of these contests have triggered questions from the netizens: "How come many of the beauty contests winners are not so beautiful?", "How are the championships of these beauty contests selected?"

According to a summary by Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly, there are four main reasons that a "beauty contest" has turned into an "ugly contest". Firstly, the condition to hold a beauty contest is very easy to fulfill for many sponsors. Secondly, many of the contests are hold to attract funds and sponsorships rather than to select beauties. Thirdly, the levels of the contestants are uneven. Finally, the contest system has not changed for a long time and many of the trainers and judges are not well qualified.

In fact, beauty contest is not a simple cultural event any more. Some contests are hold to promote the sponsors; some are more of a commercial activity; some are to select a spokesperson for an enterprise… Different contests adjust differently according their needs and sponsors put their own requirements into the event. This is a main reason why the winners are often criticized by the public.

Although often having 'fashion', "environmental protection", "charity" as their slogan, beauty contests seem to have not much relationship with "beauty".

Photo taken on July 24, 2012 shows contestants compete on the stage at the 62th Miss World final. The contest was held on July 24, 2012 to August 18, 2012 in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, with contestants from 125 countries all over the world. It was the first time that Miss World final was held in western China and in a minority nationality region. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on July 24, 2012 shows contestants compete on the stage at the 62th Miss World final. The contest was held on July 24, 2012 to August 18, 2012 in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, with contestants from 125 countries all over the world. It was the first time that Miss World final was held in western China and in a minority nationality region. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on August 11, 2012 shows Zhao Meijuan, a contestant from Henan Province, competes at Miss Bikini 2012 China Zone final. Zhao took the crown and joined the Miss Bikini final representing China. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on August 11, 2012 shows contestants walk on the T-stage under water and enter the competition venue. Miss Bikini 2012 China Zone final was held in Mujiazhai ecotourism zone on August 11, 2012. Zhao Meijuan from Henan took the crown. Du Wenjing from Hubei and Song Xiao from Shandong won the 2nd place. Zhang Yun from Henan, Yuan Fang from Beijing and Liu Wei from Shanxi won the 3rd place. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on August 11, 2012 shows the winner of Miss Bikini 2012 China Zone, Zhao Meijuan (F) is on the awarding ceremony with other winning contestants. Zhao from Henan took the crown. Du Wenjing from Hubei and Song Xiao from Shandong won the 2nd place. Zhang Yun from Henan, Yuan Fang from Beijing and Liu Wei from Shanxi won the 3rd place. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on August 22, 2012 shows contestants selected for the final are in a show. The golden crown for Miss Universe 2012 China Zone final was revealed to the public on August 22, 2012. The crown, shaped like a peacock spreading its tail, was made of more than 600 diamonds and jewels. 21 contestants were chosen to join the final in September and the winner will join Miss Universe 2012 representing China in December. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on August 6, 2012 shows contestants from Miss Universe 2012 show in Bikini on Costa Victoria. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on August 30, 2012 shows winners of the 52th Miss International China Zone final, Wang Yuyao (M), Zhang Chengcheng (L) and He Jia. The contest was held in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia and 40 contestants competed in different forms and costumes. The winner, Wang Yuyao will join the Miss International final in Japan in October. Photo: Xinhua

Photo taken on August 24, 2012 shows contestants from Miss Tourism 2012 China Zone final competes on stage. The contest was held in Yangcheng, Shanxi province and 36 contestants from 20 zones all over China competed in many different forms and costumes. The final top three were Liu Yanjun from Shanxi, Xu Yaoyao from Jiangxi and Yuan Jia from Beijing. Photo: Xinhua