Four “Chang'e sisters” had lunch at the 9th floor of Yintai Department Store Wulin Branch, attracting a lot of passers-by's attention. Xiao Mo has a regular Hanfu group for activities, with an average of one event per month. They would dress up and walk around the West Lake, taking photos. “In the past, there were few people in Hanfu by the West Lake, and we would be surrounded by onlookers whenever we went out. Now it's very common,” Xiao Mo said. Besides the West Lake, Xiangji Temple is also a popular spot for Hanfu enthusiasts to take photos in Hangzhou. On the day when the Chang'e sisters were working overtime, it was also the opening day of the Taobao Maker Festival. Many young people dressed in Hanfu appeared in the venue that day. “My friends went there, and they said that you could get free admission if you wore Hanfu,” Xiao Mo said. It is reported that since last year, the search volume for “Hanfu” on Tmall has exceeded that of “shirt,” with the number of buyers increasing by 92%, mainly driven by the post-95s generation. A 2,000 RMB Hanfu is like “Dior.” Some girls have even dedicated two rooms to store their Hanfu collections. Xiao Mo has a page of notes on her phone. It records all the Hanfu she has bought since she started in 2014, including the brand, name, and price, all clearly marked. Some are labeled with small brackets (sold), meaning they have been resold. “Most people in this circle do this. After all, it's not everyday wear, so some pieces are only used for photos and then put aside. So the turnover is quite high,” Xiao Mo said. She sells the Hanfu she wants to part with on Xianyu. Occasionally, if she gets lucky, she can sell limited editions or popular items at a higher price, making a profit from the difference. “The difference is usually around 200 RMB, but sometimes it can be special.” Xiao Mo showed the reporter a photo on her phone, “This piece became a limited edition because the designer changed jobs. It originally cost more than 500 RMB, but now it's being sold for over 5,000 RMB on the market. Yes, just like how guys speculate on shoes!” How much does it generally cost to buy a set of Hanfu? On the day Yintai Department Store chose Chang'e, a pop-up store for Hanfu called “Return to Han and Tang” opened at West Lake Yintai. Girls passing by couldn't resist touching and looking at the clothes. The store manager, Diederich, chose the best-selling set, “Hangzhou girls prefer Tang-style Hanfu, such as this chest wrap skirt plus a light chiffon jacket, which costs about 500 RMB.”
Many people say that the rise of Hanfu has a certain connection with Hangzhou. “The East District of Xixi Wetland in Hangzhou charges 80 RMB for entry, but you can enter for free if you wear Hanfu. Inside, half the girls are in ancient costumes, making you feel like you've traveled back to the Tang and Han dynasties. The Southern Song Imperial Street, West Lake, and other scenic spots are all suitable for taking Hanfu photos. Plus, several major stores, such as Chunshan Ji, Qingbei Xu, Jiangnansuxi, and Zhaixingci, have factories in Hangzhou, so the acceptance of Hanfu among Hangzhou residents is particularly high, as they are used to it.” A Hanfu enthusiast named “Wunian” by the West Lake told the reporter this.
During the interview, Liu Dan specially called on a group of “veteran” members to give a demonstration. More than ten beautiful girls, dressed in Hanfu from different dynasties, introduced the styles and history of Hanfu while performing the etiquette of their respective dynasties. Among them, a Russian girl seemed slightly nervous and kept forgetting the name of the Hanfu she was demonstrating during the shoot. This Russian girl gave herself a Chinese name, “Xiaojia,” and is a student at Yunnan Minzu University.
With the promotion and revival of traditional culture, it has become very common to see young men and women wearing Hanfu on the streets in recent years, especially after returning to Hangzhou from Shenzhen. As the ancient capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, the frequency of Hanfu sightings here is really high, and by the West Lake, you often encounter many elegant scholars and beauties as if they stepped out of ancient paintings. Some people may still think it's strange to wear Hanfu daily, but actually, there's no need to worry. Our ancestors dressed this way, and our culture is like this. Why should we care about others' opinions? We can nod and smile at those who approve, and ignore those who don't. After all, the most important thing is to do what you like and please yourself.
Besides, Hanfu has been missing for more than 300 years, and unlike Kimono, which has evolved with the times, Hanfu has never developed. Japanese people wear Yukata for daily festivals and on occasions like fireworks shows. For tea ceremonies and coming-of-age ceremonies, they wear formal Kimono. Japan is a developed country with the resources to develop its culture, and Kimono has not been interrupted. It has adapted to modern life, allowing Japanese girls to wear Kimono with lace, making it fashionable. When wearing Yukata for traditional festivals, they can style their hair in trendy ways, such as buns, curls, ponytails, and bob cuts with bangs.
According to China Blue News on February 6, 2023 (reporters Fu Xinyi and Shi Jia from the China Blue Media Fusion Center and Xinlan News), a decade ago, people walking by the West Lake in Hanfu would receive strange looks. In 2019, Li Ziqi, dressed in Hanfu, gained popularity abroad, producing videos featuring traditional food preparation in classical attire, which attracted countless fans of traditional Chinese culture and raised public awareness of Hanfu culture to new heights. During the “Double 2” event on Taobao, the sales of fluffy Hanfu capes increased by 30 times.
At the event, Li Jiaqi, a well-known live-streamer, wore a Hanfu designed by Guofeng Dashang x Westlake Scenic Area Flagship Store x Huashang Jiuzhou, specifically for the “Ten Scenes of West Lake – Broken Bridge Residual Snow” collaboration. He recited “Water Tune Ode,” and this custom-made Hanfu featured patterns using printing and embroidery techniques, showcasing Oriental aesthetics to the fullest. Li Jiaqi also hosted his first Hanfu live-stream, promoting Chinese traditional culture and generating over 45 million RMB in sales. Meanwhile, the official live-streaming room of Tmall New National Goods also collaborated with the fashion show, using picture-in-picture format to provide detailed explanations of the show items while selling them, boosting the number of followers to over one million.
In my opinion, this statement sounds like it's coming from someone who hasn't grown up! If you go to Japan to study, I wouldn't criticize you for following the local customs and dressing like the locals. But if you wear a Kimono in Suzhou, whose customs are you following? If you want to experience it, you can do it at home, but there's no need to wear it on the street. Not everyone is willing to see Chinese girls wearing Kimono on the streets of China, and it's fortunate that this happened in Suzhou's Huaihai Street. If it were by the West Lake, old ladies might scold you.
What is the appearance of Tang Dynasty ladies at the West Lake? What are the characteristics of Tang Dynasty ladies' clothing? On April 1, 2018, a group of girls dressed in Tang Dynasty attire appeared by the West Lake in Hangzhou, attracting a large number of passers-by and tourists. These girls, weighing more than 50 catties, looked like characters from the famous Tang Dynasty painting “Lady of the Court Adorning Her Hair with Flowers” after being made up and dressed in Tang Dynasty attire, giving many tourists a real-life experience of…
The endless green lotus leaves meet the sky, and the red lotus flowers glow under the sun. The beautiful West Lake in Hangzhou always makes people linger. From July 7 to July 8, the Weipaitang Treasure Hunt “Lake Market” operated on Hubin Pedestrian Street, becoming another beautiful landscape by the West Lake. In addition to Chinese cultural symbols such as Chinese painting, seal carving, lanterns, paper cutting, and pearl opening, the Hanfu parade by young men and women attracted many citizens and tourists to stop and watch. The internet celebrity brought you through a time-traveling cultural scene. At 7:30 PM on July 7, before it got dark, the Weipaitang Treasure Hunt Market opened for business. Walking by the West Lake, you could see it from afar…