Ashlyn Tsui named Miss Chinatown U.S.A. and Miss Talent

On Feb. 3, senior Ashlyn Tsui won the Miss Chinatown USA Pageant and Miss Talent Pageant. The Miss Chinatown Pageant has been organized annually by Chinese American communities across America since 1958. It is an opportunity for young Chinese Americans to compete for scholarships and connect with their heritage.

“It’s nice to have a platform to speak about different messages”

“There are essentially four topics that they judicate you on,” Tsui said. “The opening walk and the opening statements, the fitness and swimsuit section, the Q&A and the talent. This year only five people were selected to perform their talents live, and I did singing.”

Participants must type up long-form opening statements to introduce themselves to the judges.
“There are two little short dances which I just practiced in my room, but I did have to type up an introduction,” Tsui said. “The problem is that you have to pack as much as you can in 30 seconds … You want to make as much of an impact as possible on the judges to make you stand [out], which is hard to do in the time limit.”
Tsui puts heavy emphasis on the value of the communal spirit of her fellow competitors throughout her time in the competition.
“I was very lucky to have such intelligent, accomplished, big-hearted women as my role models,” Tsui said. “It was a really great experience being able to know people from all over the United States.”
Tsui views pageants like Miss Chinatown as an important means of connecting with Chinese cultural traditions and values, as well as a way of sharing appreciation for her culture.
“You get to learn a lot of history, especially in San Francisco since it [has] the oldest Chinatown,” Tsui said. “There are a lot of traditions that you get immersed into. For me, I share the beauty of Chinese culture through performing arts, and I like bringing people together through music.”
Tsui, who grew up in a household that celebrates Chinese culture, is now passionate about spreading her heritage and history to others.

“These pageants … really help with empowering Asian women”

“I spoke mainly Mandarin at [home] and would watch Chinese movies with my family and play Mahjong on the weekends,” Tsui said. “Starting from a young age I would volunteer to perform at local churches or Chinese New Year parades to perform as a dancer. It’s nice to have a platform to speak about different messages … For me, it’s about promoting unity and diversity through music.”
Tsui also shows passion for Chinese culture within the Aragon community.
“Ashlyn was my AP student,” said Chinese teacher Qi Fan. “I taught her for three years and I liked the way she would wear Chinese traditional clothing. Whenever we learned about Chinese culture she would be very engaged in her discussion and in her group projects.”
Tsui, who has also been part of Aragon’s choir since her freshman year, has taken on significant leadership roles in Aragon’s music programs.
“It’s been a pleasure having her for these last four years,” said Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble Director John Chen. “She’s in women’s choir, chamber singers and is a Teacher Aide for the music program. She’s a person of integrity and well-liked by all her peers … I just can’t say enough good things about her. She’s co-choir [council] president, co-Tri-M president [and] leads the women’s A cappella group [Treble with Angels], which made semifinals at the [International Championship of High School A Cappella].”
Tsui believes that normalizing these cultural celebrations in local communities helps combat the hate crimes Asian Americans have faced.

“I share the beauty of Chinese culture through performing arts”

“These pageants … really help with empowering Asian women,” Tsui said. “Being able to have firsthand leadership experience helps battle Chinese and Asian hate crimes.”
Going forward, Tsui hopes to study musical performance in college.
“I’ll continue to perform and tell not only my stories, but the stories of my past and my ancestors,” Tsui said. “Whether it be through dancing or through singing, I hope to study either vocal performance or musical theater in college and cultivate my craft there.”
Tsui will be participating in the Miss Chinatown International Pageant, with the winners from other countries in Hong Kong this year, where she will be representing San Francisco.