Hanfu boom: EP2 How to wear and make hanfu | Girl City

Hi, this is Sarah, producer of Girl City. So today I'm going to try out Hanfu for the first time in my life. I haven't tried out Hanfu before because I don't want to attract too much attention on the streets. But now I'm in an ancient town and with people all dressed up in Hanfu. So let's get dressed! 宽袍,大袖 and everything else Hanfu. There's something getting youngsters in China excited about the ancient ways. The Hanfu has come to symbolize a meeting of the old and new with a potential consumer market of 400 million. What's behind this growing trend and what does it mean for Chinese people? Girl City finds out. I have arrived at a Hanfu town in Shewu County, Henan Province for my first encounter with this traditional garment of the Han Chinese. Later on in this episode, my co-producer Lin will be visiting a Hanfu factory in Dongguan to better understand the supply side of this industry. This town I'm at is called Yuntai Ancient Town. It's a newly built scenic region in Shewu County, which has more than 3,000 years of history. Shewu is revamping its tourism sector to attract younger visitors, aiming to become the first Hanfu town in China. A Tmall survey conducted this year indicates that 66% of Hanfu consumers in China bought it for casual wear or travel. A one-day Hanfu experience on average costs up to 200 yuan per person with abundant Hanfu to choose from. The ones available in the experience shops usually adopt traditional cuts and styles but are made with modern patterns and fabric. Hi, this is my guide for today, Meng Yan. Hi. I'd like to try archery later. Do you have any recommendations? For archery, I recommend wearing a scarf around your waist. It'll make you look cooler when girls wear it. Take your time in the fitting room, Sarah. This is Girl City producer Lin. And I'm now in a Hanfu factory in Dongguan. And I'm going to show you how Hanfu is produced. Meet Liu Deyang, a Hanfu factory owner in Dongguan, which falls in the Greater Bay Area. He started producing Hanfu in 2017 after his daughter introduced it to him. His factory now produces 30,000 pieces of Hanfu per month for different Hanfu studios. In the past, we used to work together. When we first started, we needed seven or eight people to work together. Later, we needed someone who knew how to sew. It was the same as in ancient times. We made the software one by one. After the sewing was done, we moved on to the next step. We needed to make some buttons, small balls, and beads. In Hanfu, we mostly use wooden buttons. We can't do this by machine. So it takes about five days to make Hanfu buttons. Usually, it takes four weeks to make a button. When we got to the workshop, it took us about 51 steps to make the buttons. For example, this piece of clothing I'm wearing, we made this by using a guide map. The material of this piece of clothing is close to 10 meters. The cost of storing the material is about 300 yuan. With this piece of clothing and other operating costs, the price range is between 500 yuan and 650 yuan. This price is actually a bit high for those who are trying Hanfu for the first time. They are more willing to try the clothes that are 99 yuan to 199 yuan. When you pay, the pressure is relatively low. They will compare the simple price habitually. That's Ao Luojia. She's a Hanfu model and designer who gained online popularity in China a few years ago. We will be hearing more from her in the next episode. So in 2019, Chinese consumers reportedly spent 1,873.3 billion yuan on clothes. Out of that, only 4.5 billion yuan went to the Hanfu industry. The possible reason? Individual spending on clothing per year is 1,388 yuan. So there aren't too many takers for a 300 yuan Hanfu. Compared with daily wear, which is the crown jewel of mass production in modern society, the Hanfu industry is still at an early stage and faces the challenge of high production costs and low budget buyers. After two hours of preparation, finally I've put on my first Hanfu outfit and I kind of like it. Now I'm going to try out the archer shop and become an archer lady from ancient times. So let's go! After wearing Hanfu for the first time, I feel I'm one step closer to grasping this cultural trend that's making its way across China. And by spending less than 200 yuan, I was able to travel back in time to different dynasties. But is that all? We are all Hanfu. We hope Hanfu can become a symbol of national confidence. We know what our clothing represents and what it shows. If it's just a beautiful dress, why do we promote Hanfu? We have 56 ethnic groups in China and more ethnic groups and countries around the world. Why Hanfu? Because Hanfu is our own culture. In the next episode, we look at the different ways that the Hanfu industry can support the local economy. We also follow our Luo Jia as she scouts opportunities for a Hanfu modeling contest in Xiuwu County. Stay tuned for all that next Saturday on Girl City. If you want to know more about girls in Asia, make sure you subscribe to Girl City.