The models are ready backstage, waiting to be called to sashay down the catwalk. [Photo Provided to China Daily]

Veterans of the modeling industry say that long hours, skipped meals and chronic pain from wearing high heels are just a few of the things they must endure to make it big.

In a small, 10-square-meter room, a dozen women wearing heavy makeup and short dresses rest on chairs. Cosmetics, food and clothes are scattered on tables around them.

One of the models, Zhao Ruiliang, finishes half of her coldboxed lunch and puts her face down on a table to rest. Before she lies down, Zhao puts a Kleenex over her face to keep her makeup from being ruined.

The models are taking a short lunch break in a backstage room at an automobile exhibition in Beijing. Some just lean against their chair backs, but their top concern isn't getting rest. They're more worried about making sure their hair and makeup stay in place.

Zhao, 22, from Shanghai, says that the backstage room is nice compared to some of the ones she's been in. Some don't even have chairs, so the models are forced to sit on small cushions.

Many people see modeling as an easy job in which people make money by walking and posing in nice clothes. Those who pursue it as a career do it because it looks glamorous, but there's a lot of hard work that goes on behind the stage.

Sun Yuhan, 24, who is from Dalian, Liaoning province, understands that better than most people. She works as a model in Shanghai but also travels to other cities for jobs. On one occasion, Sun went to Beijing to model on the Great Wall. The night before the shoots, Sun came down with a serious cold and suffered from diarrhea and vomiting all night. Even though she didn't sleep that night, she still had to be at work the next morning with a smile on her face.

"I really missed my parents at the time, but I did not call them because I feared that they would worry about me. I really felt helpless that night as I was alone without anyone to help me, even to do something simple like get a hot cup of water," she says.

Because there's no set time for meals, Sun often only eats once a day. Her meals are often cold by the time she gets around to eating them. "Stomach trouble is an occupational disease for models and I'm no exception. My stomach often goes on strike when I am busy for work," she said.