Although Qipao are no longer worn as daily wear dresses, there has been a surge in popularity of the garment in recent years.

A typical Shanghai Qipao store

Notably, over 2000 ladies wore their Qipao dresses proudly to attend the fifth ‘Shanghai Cheongsam Salon’ at Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre on May 20, 2012. The goal of the event was to promote and share the elegant etiquette of wearing a Qipao.

As a devout admirer of the Qipao, Ms Wang, who attended the event, explained that she has over 52 Qipao dresses including a specially altered one with a back slit to wear when cycling. She would like to see the Qipao being worn more often by women. The club itself  has a Culture Centre in the Xuhui district of Shanghai where members are required to wear Qipao to join activities such as exhibitions, flower arrangement, tea or dance performances. They also run external events such as lectures or cultural afternoons to an increasing public audience.

Here are links to some documentaries following the evolution of the Chinese Qipao to modern times by China’s international television channel CCTV:

Sources and interesting articles on the ‘Shanghai Cheongsam Salon’:

www.chinadaily.com.cn/sunday/2012-12/30/content_16068764.htm

twittweb.com/cheongsam+culture+booms-21237454

by Hannah hannah@interactchina.com