China wins Miss World 2007

Sanya, China -- Fireworks exploded and China cheered as a 23-year-old beauty from Beijing was crowned Miss World 2007.

Zi Lin Zhang bested 105 other women Saturday in the contest in Sanya, China, to become country's first Miss World, The Sunday Telegraph reported Sunday.

China lifted its ban on beauty contests and reportedly paid an annual fee of nearly $4 million to host the pageant for four of the last five years, the British newspaper reported.

The Miss World pageant has become a publicity vehicle for the Chinese government, the Telegraph reported, noting a television audience of more than 2 billion makes it one of the world's most watched events.

For more than 50 years, the Communist Party banned beauty pageants as decadent and demeaning to women.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.