NPC deputy has proposed setting up Hanfu Day

By Zhong Mengxia

Recently， Cheng Xinxiang， deputy to the National Peoples Congress and inheritor of Hunan embroidery， proposed to establish a National Hanfu Day at Two Sessions. For the time， the topic rushed to the Chinese social network hot list， which triggered online discussion among netizens.

The proposal to set up Hanfu Day received 100，000 thumbs up

Cheng Xinxiang believed that Chinese Hanfu， as one of the important carriers of Chinese traditional culture， was a representative costume produced through continuous integration in thousands of years. She suggested that the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar could be designated as Chinese Hanfu Day. Also this is the birthday of the Yellow Emperor， the ancestor of the Chinese nation.

As soon as this proposal goes out， it caused many netizens thumb up. Launched by Chinanews.com， the topic “What do you think of the proposal to establish a National Hanfu Day” has got online votes from over 135，000 netizens， of whom more than 103，000 chose "it is necessary". A reporter randomly interviewed part of the citizens， most of them believe that the establishment of Chinese Hanfu Day can enhance the national awareness of the protection and inheritance of traditional culture， but some hold that there is no need to set up a holiday. It is more important to promote traditional culture subtly through multiple channels.

Young people are the main force paying for Hanfu

Hanfu is the traditional national costume of the Han nationality in China. From the period of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the Ming Dynasty， Chinese people did not change the basic characteristics of clothing. The clothing of the Han nationality during this period was Hanfu. It is one of the intangible cultural heritages of China， carrying the outstanding craftsmanship and aesthetics of the Han nationality， such as dyeing， weaving and embroidering. Now， more and more modern popular elements are added into Hanfu.

In recent years， the number of Hanfu fans in China has increased rapidly. Many young people wear Hanfu at public places， and various cultural activities such as Hanfu coming-of-age day has emerged. Z generation has become the largest group of Hanfu buyers， with a market size of billions. In 2018， the market size of Hanfu on Taobao exceeded 2 billion yuan， and Guangdong， Zhejiang， Jiangsu and some other provinces lead the renaissance across the country in purchasing Hanfu. In addition， many scenic spots in southern China have offered free Hanfu tours to attract the attention of tourists and citizens.

With the growing popularity of Hanfu and the promote of Internet platforms such as Tik Tok， the niche hobby has grown into a big industry. Going out in Hanfu is becoming more and more common nowadays. People wearing Hanfu can be seen everywhere in activities of traditional festivals and scenic spots. The Hanfu has also appeared in the Super Model Contest and Han Dance Contest. Actress Xu Jiao and lyricist Fang Wenshan have become the spokesmen for Hanfu.

A Hanfu fan said that she has more than 240 sets of Hanfu， the most expensive one is more than 6，000 yuan. Statistics show that Hanfu， priced between 100 yuan and 300 yuan， accounted for more than 60 percent of sales in 2018.

Hanfu industrys future

According to statistics， the potential users of Hanfu in China are large， with 415 million potential users and 18 million purchasers. The price of Hanfu is concentrated in 300-500 yuan， accounting for 43% of Hanfu consumed； Hanfu consumers mainly buy Hanfu through Taobao or Tmall， of which Taobao or Tmall accounts for 48% total.

Qichacha， a domestic enterprise credit application， shows that as of now， there are 1，248 enterprises where Hanfu is part of their business， of which 449 are newly registered enterprises between 2020 and 2021.

In 2019， the purchase scene of Hanfu consumers in China was mainly driven by daily use and travel scenes， accounting for 66% of the consumer population with some other settings respectively to present 27% for the folks festival wear， 26% for traditional style wear in camera shot， 15% in Cosplay， exhibition， company annual meetings， and 10% in wedding and dance scenes.

The number and scale of Hanfu fans and market are growing rapidly， and their growth rates are also on the rise. Analysts believe that Hanfu is a typical representative of the development of traditional Chinese quintessence combined with trend elements. It mainly forms a community and sub-cultural circle through the younger generation， and constantly improves peoples acceptance of it， thus driving Hanfus commercial exploration in the new era and promoting market growth.

The number of Hanfu fans has maintained a growth rate of over 70% for four consecutive years， which pushed sales to exceed 4.5 billion yuan. With the rising trend of Hanfu and the expanding market， the development of Hanfu industry is also accelerating， boosted by the sustained customization trend， an immanent fashion for Hanfu， a driver for a large market growth to lead to mass production.