Traditional dress: Qipao
During Manchu rule, Nurhachi (努爾哈赤, Nǔ'ěrhāchì), a chieftan, established the Banner System, a structure for organizing all Manchu families into administrative divisions. The traditional dress that Manchu women wore became known as the qipao (旗袍, banner gown). After 1636, all Han Chinese men in the banner system had to wear the male version of theqipao, chángpáo (長袍). In the 1920s in Shanghai, the dress was modernized and became popular among celebrities and the upper class. Qipao became less popular when Communist rule since 1949. But the Shanghainese took the dress to Hong Kong where it remained popular in the 1950s for working women who often wear it with a jacket. Nowadays it turns into the special typical Chinese-fashion dress that Chinese women wear in wedding, festival, or some other formal occasions. Depends on different materials and skill of tailor, the prices of Qipao are various a lot. |