Chinese women in Shanghai-style Qipao shine on world stage

SHANGHAI, July 14 (Xinhua) -- When she was young, Liu Peizhu preferred to wear Western clothes. It was not until 2010, when she took a cruise to Japan with a model team in traditional Qipao dress before her retirement, that Liu was truly impressed by the charm of Chinese clothing culture.

The team's attire drew praise from the foreigners on board, and Liu and her friends were invited onto the stage to show off their Qipao costumes.

Featuring a high collar and delicate cloth buttons on the front, the Qipao originated in China's Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In Hong Kong, it is more well-known as cheongsam, meaning "long gown" in Cantonese. It has evolved over time, and nowadays it represents a new fashion option for Chinese women who value tradition and elegance.

The Longfeng Qipao, a style of cheongsam associated with Shanghai, and which emphasizes the beauty of female curves, is particularly popular. In 2011, the craft of making these garments by hand was listed as an item of national-level intangible cultural heritage.

Longfeng cheongsam mainly has nine crafts, namely inlaying pieces, rimming the inlaid pieces, making fringes, sewing curved lines, embroidering, painting, hollowing, carving and making knot buttons.

"In addition to the masters passing on the craft to their apprentices, the inheritance and promotion of Shanghai-style Qipao is also inseparable from a group of fans who come to our stores almost every year to tailor and customize their robes," said Jiang Manzong, a fourth-generation inheritor of the Longfeng cheongsam craft.

Now in her 60s, Liu has maintained a slim figure since her retirement, allowing her to wear the Shanghai-style Qipao in various colors and styles.

In 2013, Liu set up a professional committee of Qipao art, under the Shanghai Sino-foreign culture and art exchange association, with the aim of attracting more women to engage in cultural exchanges between China and the world.

Over the past decade, the committee has raised funds and promoted the Qipao culture in countries across the world, including in New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy, Mauritius, the Republic of Korea, Japan and the United States.

"We want the world to know more about the Shanghai-style Qipao," Liu said.

Liu and her team celebrated the 10th anniversary of the committee in May by holding exhibitions, special shows and parties.

After 10 years of development, the committee has 87 members, most of whom are working women who have been through higher education, with an average age of less than 49. The members include executives of Chinese and foreign enterprises, as well as civil servants, working in fields such as finance, education and medicine.

Eager to spread the Shanghai-style Qipao culture, they also insist on learning Chinese classical art courses such as painting, tea art, dance and music, hoping to further improve their self-development so as to better demonstrate this item of intangible cultural heritage.

"Our efforts over the past decade have not only been to display Chinese clothes, but also to show the world the elegant and intellectual image of Chinese women in the new era," Liu said.