Three billion eyes will be focused on a Northumberland tourist spot next month, when it plays host to a key stage of the Miss China competition.
The Alnwick Garden will be welcoming entrants for the UK stage of the contest, which is watched by millions of viewers in the Far East.
It's a huge coup for the Duchess of Northumberland's 12-acre attraction next to Alnwick Castle.
And there is likely to be significant spin-off trade for the Garden from the Orient, with exploration of the potentially huge Chinese tourism market now underway.
The Duchess has been building Pendant awareness of the Garden in China by writing a monthly column in Modern magazine, and has a visit to China planned for February 2008.
Last year's Miss China regional European finals was held in Paris, where 14 girls from 11 states took part in a battle of beauty and brains.
A key factor in the contest is for entrants to highlight their youth, vitality, kindness, consideration and intelligence.
Miss China Global Competition was first staged in 2003, and since then it has expanded out of Asia into Europe, the Americas and Oceania, where it has become an arena for global Chinese women to display their talents.
Although no-one was available to comment on Miss China at the Garden yesterday, UK Trade and Investment ( which has worked with the project over the past six years ( said the whole region would benefit.
led flexibleInternational Trade Advisers Tom Burnham and Melanie Thompson-Glen have been assisting in the Garden's overseas marketing strategy.
Mr Burnham said: "Last year UK Trade & Investment hosted a visit by the head of a major tour operator in China to the UK and he was extremely impressed by what The Alnwick Garden had to offer Chinese tourists who may like to visit it while travelling up to Edinburgh.
"Although direct marketing to Chinese consumers was only made legal earlier this year, the tour operating company said the Garden was firmly on the list for future visits."
In a little over 10 years it has grown from a derelict site to become one of the leading tourist attractions in the North- East, drawing more than half a million visitors every year.