Measured, assessed and judged: Miss Vietnam 2016 about to kick off

Last Sunday, hundreds of beauties flocked to Saigon to take part in the Southern Qualification round for Miss Vietnam 2016.

Most of them are fresh out of university.

The would-be models were measured, gave an introduction and questioned by the jury.

Le Tran Ngoc Han was one of the beauties exempt from the qualification round for already earning the title "Hue’s Miss Tourism 2015"

Many seasoned competitors showed up in traditional "ao dai".

Others turned to more up-to-date looks in attempts to impress the jury.

Beautiful gossiping break captured by photographer.

This year’s pageant is not just based on beauty, a stigma that gave the competition a bad reputation for promoting of an "ideal" image of women that many agree to be far from reality.

“Miss Vietnam 2016” will also name “Miss Kindness”, who will perform social activities, and “Miss Media”, who will boost local tourism.

On the same day, the top 30 beauties were announced. The final round will be happening at 8 p.m., June 12.