Bikini test par for the course at university
Not many universities would require course applicants to pass a 'bikini test', but a Nanchang institute yesterday welcomed 95 women deemed shapely enough to enter China's first bachelor's degree programme for flight attendants.
Thousands of women from across the country applied for the four-year programme.
The lucky ones who made the short list - mostly aged 18 or 19 - were required to parade on stage in skimpy swimwear for officials of the Nanchang Institute of Aeronautical Technology's arts school.
Priority was given to applicants who were shapely and tall, a school spokeswoman said.
The university teaches courses on customer service, air safety, beauty and make-up, oral English and artistic performance, among others.
The spokeswoman said while good looks were a prerequisite, the women also had to be intelligent, so school examination results were considered during the selection process.
Air hostess jobs are highly desirable on the mainland.
When Air China announced in March it was seeking 70 air stewardesses and 15 stewards, it was deluged with several thousand applications.
Hopeful candidates formed a queue more than 1km long in central Beijing to submit their applications.
Li Fang, a 21-year-old graduate of the Beijing Management College of Politics and Law, was one of the lucky few on that day, and now works for the national airline on flights between Beijing and Guangdong.
She said many women wanted to become air hostesses because the job was glamorous, involved travel and was well paid.
