Singapore group revives traditional Chinese dress

World Today

Singapore is experiencing a revival of Chinese traditional dress, known as the Hanfu movement. It’s an effort to reintroduce the traditional dress of the ethnic Han people.

CGTN’s Miro Lu reports.

Casual is not the dress code for Gong Pan Pan on Fridays. When some people wear blue jeans to work, Gong puts on traditional dresses women in China used to wear in ancient times.

Gong is a Hanfu enthusiast and she has been dressing up on her “Hanfu Fridays” for almost a year.

“When I first started wearing Hanfu I felt that I needed to complete the look, which includes hair, accessories, makeup and all, and I needed to find an occasion to do it,” Gong says.

“People dress down for Fridays,” she adds. “I will dress up to make myself more excited about the weekend.”

The revival of Hanfu in China since 2003 led to a Hanfu movement across the Chinese-speaking world.

Gong’s collection includes replicas of dresses worn almost 2,000 years ago. Almost every weekend, she gathers family and friends and dresses them in Hanfu.