For Qi Han, it`s another busy season. She`s just returned from a skincare press conference in Tianjin and is now all set for the 2008 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition starting this Sunday in Shunyi district.

Qi is a model from Shandong province. Barely 24, she reached the top 10 in the 2006 China Miss World contest and took the top slot in the Asian Formula International Open Model Competition.

Qi has lived in Beijing since 1997. Ten years ago, the middle school student began to harbor dreams of becoming a model. She would read fashion magazine in secret during class and finally decided to quit school to pursue her dream. But her parents were dead against the idea.

"I then ran away from home, which caused them much anxiety, and they let me go my way," she says. "My Dad could not make it to college because of poverty, but it was unfair to impose his aspirations on me. I would have been as sad as he was over not being able to go to college."

At 15, Qi enrolled in fashion classes at the Shandong University of Arts. Even at 5ft 8, she was not seen as tall when compared to her classmates but her graceful figure caught the attention of her teachers.

Every day, the trainees were made to must wear specially designed hard, 10-cm high high-heeled shoe to correct their pose and practice walking on the catwalk.

Two years later, the adventurous girl decided to see if she could strike out on her own. Together with two other aspirants, Qi came to Beijing. The year was 2001, she was just 17, and knew nobody in the city.

"Standing outside Beijing Railway Station at 6 am, we were taken aback by the huge square teeming with people. We looked at one another, speechless," Qi says. Each was lost in her own worries-over food, lodging, a job.

Qi and her friends settled down in Dazhanlan in Qianmen Street. "We were taken to a shabby and cramped attic that had no bathroom and cost us 80 yuan per month each," she recalls.

One day, a man claiming to be a director from the Beijing Film Academy stopped Qi on the street and asked her to take a screen test. The test went off smoothly. Days later, the man contacted her, saying that she had been cast in a minor role in a low-budget film.

"But soon, I sensed his real motives," says Qi. "What he wanted was more than an actress ...I was not interested in the `short-cut`."

She shot out a flood of resumes to modeling firms and gradually began to get small parts - at auto shows, cosmetics show etc. "We were able to build contact with the exhibitors who could directly sign short-term contracts with us."

Qi says most model companies essentially work as brokers, offering their models to exhibitors for a fee. She began slowly working her way up from these small beginnings.

"The Beijing Auto Show to be held this weekend will present me with a new opportunity this year - the Models` Diary started by China.com," she says.

According to Li Naiming, the editor in chief of auto.china.com, the open-blog platform will give every model on the car show the chance to write about her one-week life as a car model. "Few auto show visitors remember the models," Li says. "The blogs will provide a peek into our contributions."

The ambitious girl is now trying to hone her acting skills. Her next project is her first TV play, Faith for which shooting is currently on.

Gao Fei, yet another runaway chasing after a career in modeling, has his sights set on the upcoming model competition in Sanya, Hainan province, by the New Silk Road Model Company.

Other than his well-proportioned, 6ft2, 80-kg frame, Gao hardly distinguishes himself from others in the fray.

The young man joined the New Silk Road company to improve his overall qualities.

"I enjoyed watching Western shows such as "Make Me A Super Model" and "Got Talent", Gao recalls. He particularly remembers one episode where competitors were told to stand in a huge transparent water tank and pose with a large boa twined around their bodies. Those with a fear of water or the snake, backed off instantly.

"I felt joining a model training school would prepare me for such situations," he says.

Gao`s trainer, Dong Jianying, and vice-president of the New Silk Road Company, says: "I`ve been a model trainer for nearly 16 years and have seen many runaways."

Some young trainees cannot understand the need for such training as striking 18-19 different poses in 20 seconds. They believe, erroneously, that all they need is good looks to become a successful model, he says.

Besides walking, Gao is also put through training in singing, recitation and social graces.

"I`m planning to learn French now as international events require us to learn more to go further in our career," says Gao.