‘Cultural power not a suit and tie’: hanfu traditional fashion revival strengthens, even as China’s economy slows

Young Chinese people are increasingly favouring hanfu, clothes once worn by ancient Han Chinese, as an expression of cultural identity and fashion

Sales of hanfu clothing leapt more than 50-fold from 2015 to 2021, when they were worth over US$1.45 billion, with sales of US$1.8 billion predicted this year

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The popularity of hanfu, traditional Chinese dress, has boomed in recent years, particuarly among younger generations who are embracing Chinese culture and identity. Photo: Weibo

Published: 2:00pm, 27 Aug 2022

Decades ago as a young boy, Zhao Bo loved travelling with his tailor father on visits to ancient towns and villages across China collecting traditional clothes once worn by their Han Chinese ancestors.

The 35-year-old comes from a family of tailors in northern China and has continued his father’s passion as an adult, collecting more than 2,000 pieces of ancient clothing, and reproduced dozens more by studying antiquities and ancient books.

Zhao now heads a museum in Yongqing, Hebei province, northern China, showcasing antique garments, some more than 500 years old, and handmade replicas of outfits dating back to more than 2,000 years ago,

An intangible cultural inheritor appointed by the Hebei provincial government to promote Chinese culture, Zhao is a part of a growing movement among younger Chinese that has helped revive hanfu, the name given to clothing once worn by ancient Han Chinese.

Zhao Bo, 35, has spent the past decade reproducing dozens of traditional Chinese clothing patterns used as early as the Han dynasty (202BC-220AD). Photo: Zhao Bo

Annual sales of hanfu clothing have leapt from around 190 million yuan in 2015 to more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) last year, according to Chinese data analysis firm iiMedia Research.