Hawke's Bay teen finds winning face in China cultural knowledge contest

Hastings councillor Kevin Watkins shows Amazing China Face Race winner and Iona College student Caitlin Thomas where she will be going when she visits China later this year. Photo / Warren Buckland

After two weeks of puzzling over clues in a challenge to track down the identity of the person behind this year's The Amazing China Face Race a winner has been found.

Iona College Year 10 student Caitlin Thomas was yesterday informed she had successfully found the "Face", earning kudos for her school and a trip to China in September this year.

The challenge, the first of which was held in 2015, required students to correctly follow clues and answer questions about anything from geography to history and culture, to identify one un-named face in China, among 1.4 billion others.

The first 30 clues knocked out the regions where the "Face" did not live, the following clues guiding the students closer to the target person - a 20-year-old woman from Jinan, in the Shandong province of Eastern China.

Open to Year 9 to 13 students, Caitlin said this was the first time she had taken part in the challenge, inspired by the prize on offer and the opportunity to learn about China.

"Some clues were easier than others - I learned a lot about the history of China, which I hadn't known much about beforehand."

Hastings councillor Kevin Watkins, who organised the challenge, said an estimated 250 students took part, and that it had been exciting to watch them going through the process.

"It's brilliant to see the students' and the schools' commitment to getting behind the competition - I watched Caitlin over the last two weeks and she worked really hard - I was delighted to be able to tell her she had won."

For her efforts Caitlin was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to China in September this year, probably for about seven to eight days, sponsored by the China Culture Centre in Wellington, Watkins said.

Caitlin said she did not know exactly what to expect of her trip but had been told it would include sharing information about New Zealand culture, particularly what life was like in Hastings.

During the hunt, scenery and interviews from Hastings were broadcast for six nights by a Chinese television station, which Watkins said was a wonderful way to let Chinese people know that Hawke's Bay secondary students were interested in learning about the country and culture.

While Caitlin will be heading across the world in September, the "Face" would be coming to Hastings to experience a little Hawke's Bay culture, including taking part in the Blossom Parade.