Clothing fit for a people

Regional hanfu organizations have sprung up across the country. The annual Hanfu Cultural Festival held in the ancient scenic town of Xitang, Zhejiang province, draws more than 150,000 visitors. The event is streamed live by the online-broadcasting platform Yingke and in November is said to have attracted 167,000 viewers over four days.

Wang herself founded a hanfu club after enrolling at the University of Jinan in Shandong province in 2014. In preparation for its opening she and some friends donned quju, a type of hanfu with its right lapel wrapped around the body, and performed dance for the university's art festival. The background music was Chong Hui Han Tang ("Dating back to the Han and Tang dynasties"), the theme song sung by a singer called Sun Yi for the hanfu movement.

Wang says she encourages club members to wear hanfu on traditional Chinese festivals. For example, on every 12th of the second lunar month, or "flower festival" which, according to Chinese folklore, is the birthday of flowers, she holds ceremonies with her friends at Daming Lake in Jinan dressed, of course, in hanfu.

"I want to wear it in public so those who are curious about it or the traditional etiquette behind it can learn about it. The revival of hanfu is not about turning backthe clock or about cosplay. It's about passing down the culture of the largest ethnic group in China, which runs from way back to ancient times."