Hanfu Revival: Young China Reclaims Traditional Dress

Walk through a park in Xi’an or Hangzhou on a spring weekend and you will see them: groups of young people in flowing robes, wide sleeves and elaborate hairpieces, posing under the blossoms. This is hanfu — traditional dress of China’s Han majority, once confined to period dramas, now a living fashion trend worn by a generation rediscovering it.

The revival is roughly two decades old. Early enthusiasts, who wore hanfu in public despite curious stares around 2003, built online communities that turned into a mass movement with the rise of short-video platforms. Today hanfu channels draw millions of viewers, and rental studios near historic sites do brisk business offering dress, styling and photography in one package.

The market has followed. Industry estimates put hanfu-related sales in the billions of yuan annually, spanning mass-produced online staples, bespoke tailoring and a growing “new Chinese style” that blends traditional elements with modern wardrobes. Weddings, graduation photos and festivals have become natural occasions to dress up.

For visitors, the easiest way in is a rental studio: staff will dress you, style your hair and hand you a fan for photos. Whether you see it as fashion, nostalgia or cultural pride, hanfu has turned China’s parks into open-air museums of living tradition.