Wenxia Yu, the 2012 Miss China, was crowned Miss World on August 18, 2012 in the mining city of Ordos on the edge of China's Gobi desert. At the age of 23 and measuring 5 ft 9 inches, Yu defeated more than 100 other candidates at the pageant's final ceremony on home soil. She is the second Chinese to win Miss World title.

Wenxia Yu was born in Yabuli, Heilongjiang province at China's northeast region. She was admitted at the Music Institute in Harbin Normal University in 2009, prevailing in cultural music. She served as hostess in China's delegation at the 2009 Winter Universiade held in Harbin.