Miss Chinatown USA 2022 Calls Castro Valley Home
Miss Chinatown USA 2020, Crystal Lee
You might catch a glimpse of this year’s Miss Chinatown USA recipient around town. The 2022 winner of the national title, Crystal Lee calls Castro Valley home.
Lee was crowned Miss Chinatown USA 2022 on February 12 and was featured in the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade in San Francisco this past Saturday. Lee competed for scholarships and prizes and the chance to become a goodwill ambassador for the Chinese community throughout the Year of the Tiger (Lunar Year 4720).
This year’s pageant theme was “Resilience, Embracing Beauty and Strength,” which Lee says was important to reflect on following the impact of COVID-19 around the world.
“For me, resilience is about pushing forward, overcoming challenges, and being adaptable, especially in the pandemic,” Lee said in an interview with KTVU-FOX 2.
Lee is no stranger to pageants, having competed before. She was named Miss California in 2013, which is the 1st Runner Up to the Miss America competition.
Lee calls herself a passionate planner and says she is excited to plan cultural events so she can bring more of her heritage and Chinese culture to the world.
“We have the benefit of a lot of diversity here in the Bay Area and I like that I am able to encourage everyone to just be who they are and what their heritage is,” she said.
In addition to her participation in pageants, Lee is a Stanford graduate with a master’s degree in Media Studies, a video producer, and a technology entrepreneur. Her video work has been seen on CBS as part of the “This is SF” program and on the Amazon Prime show “Destination.” Lee also produced “Beyond Blockchain,” a YouTube series highlighting legends in the blockchain technology industry.
In 2015, Lee cofounded LifeSite (lifesite.co), a website that allows people to store critical personal information related to family records and documents. She is also the in-arena host for the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
The “Miss Chinatown” contest has its origins in 1948, when a Chinese organization in San Francisco held a July 4 picnic with a bathing beauty contest. This continued through 1952.
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1953 decided to combine this contest in conjunction with the Chinese New Year Festival. The first “Miss Chinatown USA” contest opened itself up to national applicants in 1958.
Each year, the search for contestants is initiated each fall by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Chinese organizations, business groups, and colleges are invited to send in their entrants. Many cities send their own contest winner to San Francisco to compete.
More information about the Miss Chinatown USA competition and the chineseparade.com/