Five virgins compete in the hope of becoming a 'Goddess'

At a sacred shrine in central Nakhon Sawan province in Thailand, a large crowd gathered to watch five beautiful young virgins of Chinese descent contends in a traditional contest that relies only on pure luck.

The winner gets the opportunity to be "worshipped" by the whole city. 

Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul this year's Guan Yin Goddess winner

The hallowed ceremony was held at Nha Pha God-Goddess Shrine in Nakhon Sawan municipality to choose a young virgin to represent Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion.

It is part of the preparations for the well known Chinese New Year celebrations at Pak Nam Pho in this central province which is heavily populated by Thais of Chinese descent. 

The ceremony is to find Guan Yin and also the celebrations has been passed down through generations. The yearly grand festival will be the 101st year of the celebration and will last for 12 days from Jan 21 to Feb 1.

The five virgins are the finalists from 20 candidates ages 16 to 20. 

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For selection, the candidates required luck only, just as they have for a hundred years. All they needed to do was toss a couple of wooden bars in front of Pak Nam Pho God-Goddess three times.

At the point when the bars hit the ground, the winner twice needs one wooden bar facing up and the other facing down. The third toss she needs both pieces facing down. 

The current year's Guan Yin winner is 16-year-old Tassayaporn Wongsaksirikul, who is in Matthayom 4 in a local school.

The ceremony is viewed as holy by Guan Yin worshippers who believe the winner is specifically chosen by the Goddess. The winner's prize is the belief that she and her family have been given good fortunes and are blessed to play the part of Guan Yin.

Tassayaporn will dress as Guan Yin when she joins a parade to be held around town on Jan 30 and 31.

Her father, Narong, said his family worships the Goddess and everyone was happy with the result.