“It just struck me that the 1,000th anniversary of the foundation of Thang Long-Hanoi should be featured in this pageant,” Tran Thi Huong Giang said on the day it was announced that she would join more than 100 contestants for the 59th Miss World contest.

“I think the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi is a unique cultural event because it is rare that a country’s capital has the depth of a thousand years of culture and history.”

Giang said she is preparing an embroidered picture of Chua Mot Cot (One-pillar Pagoda) for auction at the contest.

She will give other contestants postcards of the capital’s famous places like Ho Guom (Sword Lake), Van Mieu (Temple of Literature), Pho Co (Old Quarter).

“I will perform the fencing art in the talent contest,” Giang said. “I love cai luong (reformed theatre), especially the Tieng Trong Me Linh (Me Linh Drumbeat) play. And I have chosen the Hai Ba Trung as symbols of the struggle for peace for presenting our history to the world.”

“The Miss World pageant will be held in Vietnam in 2010. It coincides with the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi celebrations. So, I want to bring the image of the capital to this year’s contest,” Giang said.

Huong Giang is the second runner-up at Miss Viet Nam Global 2009 in Las Vegas and a professional model.

“I have only two weeks to prepare for the contest. I’ll fly to England for charity programmes on November 6. On November 11, I will depart to South Africa,” Giang said.

Despite the short preparation period, Giang was confident she would do well. “I can communicate well in English. Designer Thuan Viet and Son Collection will help design traditional attires and evening dresses.

“I do not put on myself the pressure of winning. I’ll focus on introducing the richness of Vietnamese culture to the world.”

Giang was born in 1987 in Vietnam’s northern province of Hai Duong. She won the provincial beauty contest in 2006.